ERJ Open Research publication shows glasmacinal enhances antiviral responses in airway cells from asthma patients

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND – 5 October 2026 – EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals (‘EpiEndo’ or the ‘Company’), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of oral anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of COPD, has published its latest research article in the peer-reviewed journal ERJ Open Research.

The publication, entitled “Glasmacinal enhances antiviral responses in bronchial epithelial cells from asthma patients,” is a joint publication with Lund University, co-authored by EpiEndo’s Dr Jennifer Kricker (Head of Research), Dr Ginny Norris (CMO), Prof Michael Parnham (Senior Advisor), and Maria Bech (CEO) together with collaborators from Lund University: Prof Lena Uller, Dr Sofia Malm Tillgren, and Dr Mandy Menzel.

The article shows that glasmacinal enhances the antiviral response while reducing viral load in rhinovirus-infected bronchial epithelial cells obtained from asthma patients with moderate disease. Specifically, the findings show that glasmacinal strengthens the natural antiviral defence of airway cells, while reducing viral load. This suggests glasmacinal may hold promise in preventing viral-driven exacerbations, supporting its potential as a treatment for asthma and other respiratory disease.

Dr Jennifer Kricker, Head of Research at EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals, commented:

“These data show that glasmacinal, already known to enhance host defence response against inhaled LPS challenge, mimicking a bacterial infection, also boosts defense to viral challenge. This work with our collaborators at Lund University further strengthens our confidence in glasmacinal’s broader potential to reduce exacerbations across respiratory disease.”

Prof Lena Uller, Professor of Respiratory Pharmacology at Lund University commented:

“Respiratory viruses are major triggers of asthma and COPD exacerbations, and the airway epithelium plays a central role in initiating antiviral defence. What is particularly interesting in this study is that glasmacinal enhanced the epithelial antiviral interferon response while reducing rhinovirus load in cells from patients with asthma. These findings support the concept that strengthening epithelial host defence may offer a novel way of limiting the consequences of respiratory viral infections.”