The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7200 p751-757
1 June 2002

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Phospholipid mixture for asthma

A mixture of two phospholipids that occur naturally in the lungs may help prevent asthma, researchers from the University of Southampton school of medicine have found. Pumactant, which contains dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and phosphatidyl glycerol, was originally developed by Britannia Pharmaceuticals and licensed in the United Kingdom as a lung surfactant for the management of infant respiratory distress syndrome. It is no longer licensed in the UK.

Researchers randomly assigned seven patients with allergic asthma to receive pumactant or placebo in a cross-over phase II trial. Patients were then subjected to a bronchial provocation test. In each of the subjects, pumactant reduced the early airway narrowing with associated shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough, that usually occurs within 15 minutes of inhaling an allergen.

Data were presented at the American Thoracic Society's 89th international conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, last month.