Lung Denervation Trial targets Novel COPD Phenotype

First Patient Treated in the AIRFLOW-4 trial

MINNEAPOLIS, July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuvaira, a developer of novel therapeutic strategies to treat obstructive lung diseases has announced the first patient treated in its pivotal randomized trial of dNerva® targeted lung denervation therapy in COPD.

dNerva® TLD is a one-time, outpatient procedure with a complementary mechanism of action to anticholinergics, the principal class of COPD drugs taken daily to manage symptoms.  Uniquely, dNerva TLD is a "whole lung" treatment that acts on the lung's nerves to open blocked airways, providing 24/7 bronchodilation without the burden of an additional daily inhaler. 

Researchers discovered that "small airways disease" – characterized clinically as air trapping with minimal alveolar destruction -- defined best responders to treatment, raising the possibility of lung denervation as the first targeted therapy for this recognized COPD phenotype.  Post-hoc analysis at one year of follow-up showed meaningful improvement in lung function, exacerbation rates, and quality of life in dNerva-treated patients compared to sham-treated patients.   AIRFLOW-3 is published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

"Those data make sense" said AIRFLOW-4 Principal Investigator Prof. Gerard J. Criner, Chair and Professor, Thoracic Medicine and Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, who treated the first patient in AIRFLOW-4.  "Lung hyperinflation drives symptom burden but we have no targeted therapies for our large population with relatively low levels of emphysema" he said. "Plus a one-time intervention reduces the burden of adherence for patients, a key advantage of this therapy" he added. 

In conjunction with Nuvaira's recently closed funding to complete the AIRFLOW-4 pivotal trial, the company's board of directors has appointed Lisa Flaherty as Chief Strategy Officer.  Ms. Flaherty's 30 years of medical device industry experience includes 17 years in interventional pulmonary medicine.  

About Nuvaira
Nuvaira is a privately held company headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. The company's proprietary dNerva® Lung Denervation System addresses airway hyper-responsiveness, a pathophysiologic underpinning of both COPD and asthma, with a one-time, outpatient procedure designed to improve lung function, exacerbation rates and quality of life.

The dNerva® lung denervation system is under clinical investigation and not commercially available in the USA. Nuvaira and dNerva are registered trademarks of Nuvaira, Inc. www.Nuvaira.com.

SOURCE Nuvaira, Inc.