Kither Biotech Pty Ltd and Kither Biotech srl, an Italy-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical group of companies developing innovative therapies for respiratory diseases, announced on Friday the successful completion of their Phase 1 clinical study of KIT2014 in healthy participants.

KIT2014 is a novel cell-permeable peptide delivered via inhalation, designed to address multiple pathological pathways common to a number of major respiratory diseases.

Study findings showed that treatment with KIT2014 at doses ranging from 0.1 mg to 2 mg daily for up to 7 days was safe and well tolerated. Blood plasma levels of KIT2014 were below the limit of detection at all dose levels, both in the single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) parts of the study, indicating that direct administration to the lungs results in very low systemic exposure.

"The unique ability of KIT2014 to increase cAMP in different airway cell types offers the potential for multiple therapeutic benefits, including bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory effects," said Dr. Dimitrios Goundis, CEO of Kither Biotech. "We look forward to advancing the clinical development of KIT2014, to assess its therapeutic potential in patients with respiratory diseases including COPD, NCFB and CF."

"We are delighted that this first-in-human study has successfully demonstrated that inhaled KIT2014 was safe and well tolerated across all dose levels evaluated, with no measurable systemic exposure," added Anita van der Meer, director of Kither Biotech Pty Ltd. "These findings support the continued clinical development of KIT2014 and provide a strong foundation for advancing into patient studies in COPD, where we aim to further explore its unique multimodal mechanism of action and potential to address important unmet medical needs."