Dehydration of upper airways, and activation of mechano-sensitive ion channels (MSCs), occurs by mucin hypersecretion in disease states, as well as by exposure to atmospheric stimuli, including acidity, fine airborne particle exposure, or by the mouth breathing of typically arid indoor air, and the increasingly arid outdoor air associated with atmospheric climate change. Up-regulation of MSCs over prolonged dehydration triggers an inflammatory cascade leading to respiratory conditions, such as chronic cough, and cardiovascular conditions, such as hypertension.  SC Therapeutic aerosols treat such conditions at their mucosal inflammatory source, starting with chronic cough.  

Chronic cough (CC), unlike productive cough, is a persistent cough that continues for longer than 8 weeks. CC may be associated with an underlying pathology, like asthma or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), while chronic cough may also emerge from unexplained origins, and be referred to refractory chronic cough (RCC). Approximately 10% of the adult population appears to suffer from chronic cough, and, of these, an estimated 30-40% appear to have RCC. There is no current, adequate, safe and effective treatment for CC or RCC.  

Comprised entirely of ions endogenous to the airways, SC Therapeutics proprietary aerosols reverse mucosal mediated compression of MSCs, such as TRPV4, ENaC, P2X3, and CFTR. This rapidly lowers the neuro-activation of cough triggers, and over time down-regulates MSCs to reduce cough hypersensitivity. The SC Therapeutic approach to treating chronic cough differs from traditional treatment approaches that act at downstream of the inflammatory cascade, whether at the cough-receptor level, or the level of the central nervous system (CNS). As a consequence, SC Therapeutics’ lead investigational drug, SC0032, appears to act quickly, across the wide range of base-line cough rates associated with RCC, and with the safety profile of a potential first line treatment.