The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) received a $231,617 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (CFDA 93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research) to investigate the use of inhaled pitavastatin as a novel therapy for treating asthma. The two-year project will evaluate the efficacy of inhaled pitavastatin as both a monotherapy and in combination with standard-of-care asthma medications using a non-human primate model. Specifically, the researchers will test the bronchodilatory effects of inhaled pitavastatin in a rhesus macaque model of airway hyperresponsiveness (Aim 1) and assess the anti-inflammatory and synergistic benefits of pitavastatin combined with formoterol and dexamethasone using precision-cut lung slices from juvenile and adult rhesus macaques (Aim 2). Accomplishing this work will bring the researchers closer to developing inhaled statins, particularly pitavastatin, as a new drug class for treating obstructive airway diseases like asthma.
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