GRI Bio, Inc. announced the authorization of its Clinical Trial Application (CTA) by the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a Phase 2a biomarker study evaluating GRI-0621 for the treatment of IPF in the UK. The MHRA is the UK regulatory authority, a government agency, for medicines and medical devices. The MHRA is responsible for the regulation of medicines and medical devices and equipment used in healthcare and the investigation of harmful incidents.

IPF is a rare chronic progressive pulmonary disease with abnormal scarring of the lung blocking the movement of oxygen into the bloodstream. Currently available treatments for IPF are limited with only two approved drugs that come with significant side-effects, limited compliance and no impact on survival. The Phase 2a, randomized, double-blind, multi-center, placebo-controlled, parallel-design, 2-arm study will enroll approximately 36 subjects with IPF whom will be randomized in a 2:1 ratio for GRI-0621 4.5mg or a placebo.

GRI-0621 dose of 4.5mg will be compared with a dose of placebo following once daily oral administration for 12 weeks. Concurrently, a sub-study will examine the number and activity of NKT cells in bronchoalveolar lavage (?BAL?) fluid for up to 12 eligible subjects (across various centers). An interim analysis will be performed when 24 subjects (of which approximately 8 will be placebo subjects) complete 6 weeks of treatment.

The primary endpoint for the study is safety and tolerability of oral GRI-0621 as assessed by clinical labs, vital signs and adverse events after 12 weeks of treatment. Secondary endpoints are baseline changes in serum biomarkers collected at week 6 and week 12; an assessment of the pharmacokinetics (PK) of GRI-0621 at the week 12 visit of treatment (steady state); and a determination of the pharmacodynamic activity of oral GRI-0621 as measured by inhibition of iNKT cell activation in blood after 6 weeks and 12 weeks, and from BAL fluid after 12 weeks of treatment in a sub-study. An additional exploratory endpoint for the study is to assess the effect of GRI-0621 on pulmonary function at baseline and after 6 weeks and 12 weeks of treatment.