REDWOOD CITY, CALIF, March 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pearl Therapeutics Inc. today announced their receipt of the 2013 Drug Delivery Partnerships™ (DDP) Innovation Award for the Company's novel co-suspension formulation technology. These awards honor companies that have demonstrated exemplary leadership and scientific/technological innovation in the field of drug delivery and development. The award to Pearl was announced at the 4th annual Drug Delivery Partnership conference held by Institute for International Research.
"In our view, Pearl's co-suspension formulation technology has accelerated the clinical development of pulmonary medicines, allowing Pearl to move swiftly from study to study with confidence in the performance of the product over a broad range of doses, including sub-microgram doses," said Dr. Colin Reisner, Pearl's chief medical officer and executive vice president of clinical development and medical affairs. "The co-suspension technology has enabled highly uniform and efficient formulations of potent inhaled medicines, dual and triple drug combination products without any in vitro drug-drug interaction, and stable delivery under a variety of conditions. Importantly, we have accomplished this using the simple metered-dose inhaler, obviating the need to test complex devices in patients who typically receive multiple therapies at once."
Pearl's lead combination bronchodilator, PT003 as well as its monotherapy components, PT001 and PT005, are formulated using the Company's proprietary co-suspension technology, and have achieved promising clinical outcomes in mid-stage trials. Pearl scientists invented this novel formulation platform and subsequently deployed it in a detailed nine-study Phase 2 program that was completed last year. Pearl expects to initiate a global Phase 3 program, including two efficacy studies assessing a single dose of PT003 compared to PT001, PT005, tiotropium and placebo in mid 2013.
"The predictability and versatility of Pearl's co-suspension technology platform has increased confidence in the typically very complex respiratory product development arena. We look forward to initiating a Phase 3 program with our lead combination product in 2013," added Chuck Bramlage, Pearl's president and CEO. "We truly appreciate this award by our peers in the drug delivery industry. It highlights the innovation and operational excellence achieved by the entire Pearl team."
About Pearl Therapeutics
Pearl Therapeutics is a privately held company developing combination therapies for the treatment of highly prevalent respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Pearl is rapidly advancing a pipeline of products including PT003, an inhaled, fixed-dose combination bronchodilator product comprised of a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) and a long-acting beta‑2 agonist (LABA) delivered via a metered dose inhaler (HFA MDI); and PT010, a triple-combination product that combines the LAMA and LABA components of PT003 with an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) for twice-daily administration from an HFA MDI for the treatment of severe COPD. Both PT003 and PT010 are developed with Pearl's proprietary porous particle co‑suspension technology, which allows the formulation of multiple products in the MDI format, with highly stable, robust and aerodynamically efficient drug delivery. Founded in 2006, Pearl Therapeutics is privately held and backed by 5AM Ventures, Clarus Ventures, New Leaf Ventures and Vatera Healthcare. For more information, please visit www.pearltherapeutics.com.