Afferent's AF-219 meets in Phase II for chronic cough

Afferent Pharmaceuticals Inc. (San Mateo, Calif.) said twice-daily oral AF-219 met the primary endpoint in a Phase II trial to treat chronic cough. AF-219 reduced mean daytime cough frequency from baseline to week two as measured by an ambulatory sound monitoring system by 75% vs. placebo (p<0.001). AF-219 also met the secondary endpoints of improving daytime cough severity (p=0.003), urge to cough (p=0.035) and Cough Quality of Life Questionnaire (CQLQ) scores (p=0.018) vs. placebo. The double-blind, crossover, U.K. trial enrolled 24 patients with treatment-refractory chronic cough. Data were presented at the European Respiratory Society meeting in Barcelona.

Data from Phase II trials of AF-219 to treat osteoarthritis (OA) pain and interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome are expected by mid-2014. This year, Afferent also will begin a challenge study with the purinergic receptor P2X ligand-gated ion channel 3 (P2X3) receptor antagonist in asthma patients. ...