MAP Pharmaceuticals Initiates Phase 2a Clinical Trial of Combination Therapy in Adult Patients w...( MOUNTAIN VIEW Calif. Oct. 31 /- M...),Health

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAPP), an emerging pharmaceutical company, today announced the initiation of a Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating MAP0005 for the potential treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

MAP0005 is a combination of a corticosteroid and a long-acting beta2-agonist delivered to the respiratory tract using MAP Pharmaceuticals' Tempo(TM) inhaler. MAP0005 uses the Company's proprietary particle technology to combine the corticosteroid and beta-agonist components into a single drug particle in a fixed, pre-specified ratio. In addition, MAP Pharmaceuticals' technology allows for the particle structure to be specifically designed to target relevant areas in the lung and to release drug at a desired rate. MAP Pharmaceuticals believes that this approach may enable the reproducible and consistent administration of the two drugs in an optimal ratio simultaneously, and may provide improved safety and efficacy over currently available combination therapies for asthma and COPD.

"By combining drugs at the micron or submicron particle level, rather than as separate particles, as practiced with current inhaled combination therapies, we can potentially enhance the synergistic effect of the drugs and increase dosing efficiency and consistency," said Thomas A. Armer, Ph.D., founder and Chief Scientific Officer of MAP Pharmaceuticals. "Furthermore, the novel technology we apply to MAP0005 is potentially applicable to a broad range of combination drug products, for a variety of indications and routes of administration, such as oral administration."

"The initiation of our Phase 2a trial is an important step for
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