Laurent Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on rare diseases. The company is currentelly conducting a Phase 2 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of its lead drug candidate, LAU-7b (oral fenretinide), in adult patients with CF. LAU-7b is believed to act on the resolution phase of inflammation by endogenously modulating the metabolism of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an essential fatty acid involved in the process of healing and return to homeostasis after a bacterial attack or injury. More recently, LAU-7b was shown to also enhance specific lipid micro-domains in the membrane of airways cells affected by CF, resulting in an increase in functional CFTR expression under cellular stress, a self-protective mechanism that was further improved by co-administration of a CFTR modulator.
