Devonian Health shows positive preclinical results for lung fibrosis drug

Devonian Health Group Inc. (TSXV: GSD) (OTCQB: DVHGF) reported positive results from a preclinical study testing its drug candidate Thykamine in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis.

The study used a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis model in mice, testing Thykamine at various doses against pirfenidone, an approved treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Over 21 days, researchers monitored the animals and assessed lung function through multiple measures including lung weight, collagen content, and tissue analysis.

Thykamine at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg demonstrated statistically significant reductions in lung wet weight and lung tissue index compared to the control group. The treatment also reduced fibrosis and inflammation scores, indicating improvement in lung tissue structure.

The drug candidate showed effects on gene expression, downregulating genes associated with fibrosis and inflammation while increasing a gene linked to tissue repair. In this study, pirfenidone did not achieve statistical significance in the measured endpoints.

"These results represent a major inflection point for Thykamine," said Dr. Andre P. Boulet, Chief Executive Officer. "The pulmonary fibrosis data not only confirm and extend the antifibrotic effects we previously observed in mouse MASH model, but also significantly broaden Thykamine's mechanism of action."

Devonian plans to publish the study data in a scientific publication. The Quebec-based clinical stage pharmaceutical company focuses on developing treatments for fibroinflammatory diseases. Thykamine has previously been tested in Phase II clinical studies for ulcerative colitis and atopic dermatitis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive lung disease with a median survival of three to five years from diagnosis, according to the company's statement based on the press release.

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