KL4 Surfactant

The substantial unmet need for improved surfactant therapies and recognition of the importance of SP-B led to the discovery of the peptide, KL4 (also known as sinapultide). KL4 is precision-engineered to mimic the essential properties of human SP-B, the most important surfactant protein for lowering surface tension and promoting oxygen exchange. Pulmonary surfactant containing KL4 is highly effective in lowering surface tension and, unlike larger animal surfactant proteins, demonstrates significant resistance to inactivation in multiple in vitro models.1 7 12 15

Chemically, KL4 consists of 21 amino acid residues where "K" is the amino acid lysine and "L" is the amino acid leucine. KL4 Surfactant contains the key peptide KL4, the lipids dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and palmitoyl-oleyl phosphatidylglycerol (POPG), plus the fatty acid, palmitic acid (PA). Existing data for KL4 Surfactant demonstrates the following:

  • Demonstrable anti-inflammatory capability 4
  • Resistance to proteolytic and oxidative inactivation 7 12 15
  • Avoids potential risk of transmitting animal-borne diseases 44 78
  • No evidence of immunogenicity 44 78
  • Demonstrable anti-microbial activity (presented at PAS 2008)
  • Compatibility with a variety of formulations (i.e. liquid instillate, aerosol, lyophilized form) 70 71 73

The novel attributes of KL4 Surfactant allows Discovery Labs to potentially address a wide range of respiratory diseases in several unique patient populations. To date, approximately 1,000 neonatal and adult patients have been treated with KL4 Surfactant. Additionally, a wealth of scientific and clinical literature regarding KL4 Surfactant has been published addressing the pharmacology, safety and efficacy of the use of KL4 Surfactant in multiple respiratory diseases.