Therapeutic Shows Promise for Asthma

A study of a new therapeutic in a mouse model of chronic asthma showed no increase in mucus secretions in 70%, along with a marked reduction in eosinophil infiltration.

Untreated asthmatic mice, in contrast, had more than a nine-fold increase in mucus buildup, compared to saline controls. No toxicity was found in the mice treated with the therapeutic, called MDI-P. In the study, samples of bronchial lavage lung fluid and tissue were taken from all mice and assays performed in airway mucus buildup and eosinophil infiltration, a prime blood cell measure of asthmatic attacks.

MDI-P is being developed as a therapeutic by Medical Discoveries, Inc. (MDI, Twin Falls, Idaho, USA). The company's primary target use is for treating HIV patients. Because there is no animal test relevant to HIV/AIDS in humans, the company is testing MDI-P on other standard animal models to determine if there is any potentially significant toxicity to humans related to use of MDI-P.

"To the best of our knowledge of other published studies in clearing mucus plugs in the same mouse model, there is no product on the market or soon to be released from pharmaceutical pipelines which accomplishes a similar clearing of mucus plugs in the majority of treated chronic asthmatic mice,” noted Judy Robinett, president and CEO of MDI. "From this test, we speculate that MDI-P may prove to be a very beneficial agent exhibiting minimal toxicity for addressing asthma attacks.”




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Medical Discoveries, Inc.