Iconovo AB (publ) today announces that a consortium consisting of Arcede Pharma, Iconovo and Lund University has received more than SEK 2 million from Vinnova and Swelife for the development of a drug candidate for the treatment of COPD and severe asthma. Within the framework of the project “RCD405: New treatment paradigm for patients with COPD”, Iconovo receives SEK 0.5 million to develop a dry powder formulation and an inhalation product based on the ICOone® inhaler for use in clinical phase I studies.
RCD405 is a drug candidate for the treatment of COPD and severe asthma. The treatment is both bronchodilatory and anti-inflammatory, distinguishing it from currently available drugs. The dual mechanism of action has the potential to both improve efficacy and affect the underlying disease.

“The support granted to the consortium by Swelife will accelerate our ongoing development project with Arcede Pharma, and at the same time, it is an external seal of approval for the project. We look forward to continuing the collaboration with our partners, with the goal of producing clinical trial material for the first clinical study of the drug candidate RCD405 and ultimately providing COPD and asthma patients with a completely new type of treatment,” says Johan Wäborg, CEO of Iconovo.

The support is provided within the Collaborative Projects for Better Health framework, a call within the Swelife and Medtech4Health strategic innovation programs aimed at funding innovative and sustainable life science solutions.

About Swelife – For a competitive life science ecosystem in Sweden
Swelife is a strategic innovation program, funded by the Swedish Government via the Swedish innovation authority Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas (Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development), and by the program’s partners. We support collaboration within academia, industry, and healthcare, with the goal to strengthen Life Science in Sweden and to improve public health.
www.swelife.se

About ICOone®
ICOone is a unique, patented dry powder inhaler for single use. The smart design generates an ultra-low manufacturing cost combined with simple and discreet use. It is particularly suitable for short-term treatment and as-needed use as it provides an unsurpassed low treatment cost and price point for treatments with a low number of doses. The simple design also enables patients and caregivers to learn how to handle the inhalers with minimal training. ICOone can deliver large inhalation doses that are well protected against moisture, an important factor for many biomolecules.