Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis (BE) is a chronic lung disease that affects approximately 700,000 individuals in the U.S. and is characterized by recurrent cough, sputum production, and frequent respiratory infections. Despite the size of this rapidly growing, underdiagnosed patient population, there is only one FDA approved treatment indicated as a treatment that can manage airway exacerbations and improve quality of life.
People with BE have abnormally dilated bronchi as a result of many years of infection, airway inflammation, and subsequent tissue damage. The airways are stuck in a ‘vicious cycle’ of neutrophilic host response to infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Microbial colonization pushes these individuals into the moderate-to-severe end of the disease spectrum.
For example, more than 20 percent of adults with BE battle P. aeruginosa (PA) infections. Once PA is established in the airways, it becomes difficult to eliminate, and this Gram-negative pathogen leads to a 7X increase in hospitalizations and 3X increase in 4-year mortality.
Vast is developing an inhaled, first-in-class nitric oxide prodrug to address the chronic neutrophilic inflammation in individuals with BE triggered by P. aeruginosa and other pathogens. Additionally, we are interested in developing the first and only treatment for acute exacerbations in this patient population, regardless of underlying microbial etiology, given the unique broad spectrum antibacterial activity of nitric oxide.
