Patients with IPF are susceptible to mortality and morbidity. Currently there is no effective treatment for IPF patients. The most common risk factor for IPF is a gain of function variant of the mucin, MUC5B accounting to 30% of the of the risk for IPF. There is an arising interest for researchers to develop an effective and potent agent targeting MUC5B which is over expressed in the distal airways of the lung in these patients. SpliSense’s objective is developing an Antisense Oligonucleotide (ASO) drug, SPL5B, that can modulate and lower the expression of MUC5B, in a specific manner and thus potentially reduce MUC5B levels and concentration in the mucus, decrease mucus viscosity and accumulation in the distal airways, and by that improve Mucociliary Clearance (MCC), reduce hypoxia in the distal airways and reduce infection and inflammation in IPF patients.
