Connect Biopharma (NASDAQ: CNTB) just reported positive Phase 2 results for rademikibart, an experimental treatment for people experiencing serious flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, better known as COPD. And the numbers were impressive.

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In the 159-patient study, rademikibart reduced the rate of treatment failure by 81% compared with placebo during the first four weeks. Treatment failure included things such as being hospitalized again, returning to the emergency room, needing an unscheduled medical visit, or requiring additional medication because COPD symptoms were getting worse.

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The drug also reduced new moderate-to-severe COPD flare-ups by 85% during the same period. Even more interesting, none of the patients receiving rademikibart returned to the emergency room or were hospitalized for a new COPD flare-up during those four weeks. That compared with nine such events among patients receiving placebo.

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If you’re unfamiliar, COPD is a chronic lung disease that makes it increasingly difficult to breathe. Patients can experience sudden flare-ups where symptoms become significantly worse, often resulting in emergency treatment or hospitalization.

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How it works

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Rademikibart works by blocking two proteins involved in inflammation, known as IL-4 and IL-13. You don't need to remember those names. The basic idea is that certain COPD patients have excessive inflammation in their airways, and rademikibart is designed to shut down part of the biological pathway driving that inflammation.

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There was one weak spot in the results. The study's key secondary endpoint measuring lung function after seven days did not reach statistical significance. By Week 4, patients receiving rademikibart showed a 70-milliliter greater improvement in lung function than placebo, but that difference wasn't statistically significant either.

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Still, the reductions in treatment failure and repeat COPD flare-ups give Connect enough evidence to move the program forward. The company now plans to meet with the FDA to discuss the design of a Phase 3 registrational program.

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Rademikibart is also being developed for asthma, where Connect recently reported that the drug reduced treatment failure by 66% in a separate Phase 2 study.

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If the COPD results can be replicated in a larger Phase 3 trial, Connect could have a drug capable of addressing one of the biggest problems with COPD: keeping patients from ending up right back in the hospital after a serious flare-up.

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