Pulmatrix Inc (PULM)

[guchu]

Currently, many CF patients experience allergic reactions when their lungs become infected with a fungus called Aspergillus. Doctors now try to treat those infections with oral drugs such as itraconazole. Oral antifungals require very high doses to get enough of the drug to the lungs through the bloodstream to fight the fungus, causing severe side effects, and oral antifungals are not always effective. Pulmatrix's goal is to solve this problem by combining itraconazole with its innovative dry powder iSPERSE™ technology. "By delivering the drug directly to the lungs, we should be able to fight the infection far more effectively than the oral drug can, with far fewer side effects," explained Pulmatrix's Chief Scientific Officer, David L. Hava, PhD. "That should bring great benefits to patients."

Pulmatrix, Inc. (PULM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative inhaled therapies to address serious pulmonary diseases, today announced that its drug candidate for treating fungal infections in the lungs of CF patients, PUR1900, has been designated as a "Qualified Infectious Disease Product" (QIDP) by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

Under the QIDP program, which is designed to speed the development of novel drugs against important pathogens, Pulmatrix will receive five years of additional market exclusivity for PUR1900.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pulmatrix-drug-candidate-receives-qualified-144500653.html