Summary
- Lyra Therapeutics went public in May of 2020 at $16 a share and is advancing LYR-210 for the treatment of rhinosinusitis.
- LYR-210 is an implantable steroid infused drug matrix for the treatment of the 2.4 million surgically naive patients who have failed standard treatment.
- Phase I data showed LYR-210 was safe and effective in a cohort of 20 patients with moderate to severe symptoms of rhinosinusitis.
- Lyra Therapeutics is on target to deliver Phase II data by year end 2020. Positive results could act as a catalyst for shares of Lyra Therapeutics to trade at $16 or higher.
Lyra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LYRA) is seeking to advance a new treatment modality for a very common condition called chronic rhinosinusitis. The company was founded by MIT's Dr. Robert Langer who is a prolific inventor and patent holder and Harvard's Dr. George Whitesides. Their drug device will likely be positioned as a second line treatment for the 50 percent of patients who fail first line treatment, many of whom wish to avoid surgery. The device uses what Doctors know works, topical steroids, but delivers them continuously at the difficult to reach the site of the disease. The company is on target to complete their Phase II trial by year end and to move to Phase III in 2021. Lyra Therapeutics is well capitalized, and if they produce favorable Phase II data, the stock price is likely to reflect the company's ongoing progress. The current pricing of Lyra stock, which is 25 percent below the IPO price, offers an opportunity to invest with a margin of safety.
Chronic Rhinosinusitis
Rhinosinusitis, also sometimes called chronic sinusitis, is a condition characterized by facial pain and pressure, a reduced ability to smell, nasal discharge, and nasal obstruction that lasts more than 12 weeks. The hallmark of the disease is a chronic inflammation in the nose and paranasal sinuses, which is why steroids are an effective treatment. Some of these patients also have nasal polyps which are inflammatory lesions that block the nasal passages. An article published in ACP Internist noted that patients with chronic rhinosinusitis can be quite miserable and often complain of fatigue and sleeping disturbances due to the symptoms. Patients report complaints such as these.
"My nose just streams. It's like I've got a stream coming out of my nose"
"I can never leave the house without tissues, hankies, I've always got them, even in the summer time."
"If something's burning, I cannot smell it"
"It's more like actually in my nose and up to the eyebrow area, but then it's also just mainly fatigue as well, that's a big part, feeling completely drained".
"I have a blocked nose my words are not so clear."
Treatment Options
The first line of treatment that Doctors recommend for the eight million patients treated in the US annually include saline rinses, steroid nasal sprays, and sometimes, a course of antibiotics. When these fail, oral steroids can be prescribed, but they have significant dangers and side effects while offering temporary relief for a chronic problem. Next, if all of these medical interventions fail, endoscopic sinus surgery is often recommended. The European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps (EPOS) recommends the same treatments for at least 12 weeks and concludes that "the literature regarding the success rates of such regimes suggests that roughly 50% patients seen in secondary care will respond, although some will go on to develop a symptomatic relapse thereafter." A published study which was conducted at the University of California San Diego found that, of 342 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who were initially managed with standard treatments, approximately 20 percent decided to continue with medical treatment, and 80 percent decided to have endoscopic sinus surgery. This study strongly suggests that medical treatments are not offering a satisfactory resolution of symptoms for a subset of patients.
