According to a story from Pharma Times, the biopharma company EsoCap has recently announced that it has finished enrollment for its phase 2 clinical trial. The trial includes patients from five European countries and will be evaluating the company’s investigational therapy ESO-101 in 43 adults living with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). The treatment period for this trial will last 28 days.
About Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), is a condition in which the esophagus becomes inflamed due to an allergic reaction that involves the activity of eosinophils, a form of white blood cell. Generally, the allergic reaction is triggered by some type of food that the patient has eaten, but it is often difficult to determine which specific food item is the cause. Symptoms of eosinophilic esophagitis include difficulty swallowing, nausea, painful swallowing, heartburn, rings in the esophagus, narrowing of the esophagus, blockage of the esophagus, and vomiting. Current treatments involve medication to suppress the immune response, eliminating known food allergens, and expanding the esophagus. Many people with the condition also have other autoimmune problems, such as celiac disease or asthma. To learn more about eosinophilic esophagitis, click here.
A Unique Approach to Administration
ESO-101 is an experimental therapy that contains mometasone furoate, which has anti-inflammatory properties and is a form of corticosteroid that has already been approved as a treatment for certain skin conditions and asthma. The drug will be administered orally in capsule form using a specially designed drinking vessel. A film will unravel and stick to the esophageal mucosa of the patient and dissolve. During this process the drug will be slowly released.
Prior studies of the administration technique demonstrated increased time in contact with the mucosa and was well tolerated by the healthy volunteers. Part of the difficulty in treating eosinophilic esophagitis stems from the typically limited time that therapies have to make contact with the esophagus before passing to the stomach. This approach aims to clear that hurdle. Hopefully, the approach will pay off for the eosinophilic esophagitis patient community.
