Vapendavir, a potential novel treatment for rhinovirus in COPD patients, showed positive results in a challenge study, improving patient outcomes, reducing viral load and maintaining lung function compared to placebo.
According to a news release, the results were presented at the 2025 European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam. The study, which will be released in 2026, was conducted in 40 participants with stage two COPD who were infected with rhinovirus. They were treated with either an oral dose of vapendavir or placebo for seven days following the onset of respiratory symptoms.
Sebastian Johnston, MBBS, PhD, professor of respiratory medicine and allergy at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, said this is the first study to show a positive outcome with the drug.
“Patients fear these infections because they know it will worsen their symptoms and, quite frequently, they end up in the hospital,” he said. “This is the first study to show a positive outcome with an antiviral drug that will treat over half of common colds, and COPD patients will be very enthusiastic to have this drug in their home if and when it gets to this stage — which I sincerely hope it does.”
Altesa BioSciences, manufacturer of vapendavir, conducted the study in partnership with VirTus Respiratory Research in London. The challenge model was designed to mimic the experience of COPD patients and the real world as closely as possible — starting treatment only when their symptoms started to worsen. Vapendavir was well tolerated with no serious adverse events and no withdrawals due to adverse events.
The company plans to publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal at a later date. In addition, the positive results of this study have led to plans for enrollment in a large, multicenter, multinational phase 2/3 randomized, placebo-controlled trial in COPD patients beginning in early 2026.
