Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB announced that it has entered a partnership with the University of Washington (UW). This means that UW will receive material from Lipigon to perform advanced studies in lung damage models. The goal is to verify the benefit of ANGPTL4 inhibition in animal models of lung infection and establish inhalation of the tool compound as a route of administration.

Lipigon conducts several drug development projects, one of which is aimed at treating community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). CAP is one of the most common reasons for hospital admission and can lead to complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening condition associated with a decrease in lung function. Lipigon's CAP project shares the target protein ANGPTL4 with Lipisense, the company's most advanced project currently undergoing clinical trials.

Emerging evidence strongly indicates a deleterious role of ANGPTL4 in promoting pulmonary vascular leakage. This points to the therapeutic potential of ANGPTL4 suppression in severe conditions of the lung, where a therapy to promote vascular integrity may reduce morbidity and mortality. In the USA, Europe, and Japan, 4-5 million people are affected by CAP, and approximately 500,000 individuals suffer from ARDS each year.

The primary treatment for CAP is antibiotics (for bacterial pneumonia). Among hospitalized CAP patients, the mortality rate is about 8%, while for ARDS, it is around 40%. Currently, no approved drug treatment exists for ARDS patients.

According to Lipigon's analysis, the CAP project represents a market opportunity worth several billion USD. The laboratories of Dr. Bill Altemeier (Professor) and Dr. Pavan Bhatraju (Ass associate Professor) at the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, focus on the pathobiology of community-acquired pneumonia and acute lung injury and the role of endogenous activators of innate immunity and endothelial dysfunction. The laboratories use small animal models of human diseases to integrate cellular and molecular biology mechanistic studies with prospective enrollment of hospitalized patients and measurement of clinically relevant physiological parameters.