As an otolaryngologist, I see the effects of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) on patients firsthand, and these go well beyond persistent nasal congestion, discharge, and facial pain and pressure. This condition affects one’s quality of life, with significant impacts on sleep, mental health, productivity at work and social and family relationships. The overall impact of CRS on one’s quality of life has been reported as being similar in magnitude to other serious diseases, such as congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Parkinson’s.[1]
Given the wide-ranging impact of CRS on everyday life, treatment options that provide long-term symptom relief are critical to improve quality of life. Unfortunately, current medical treatments such as nasal steroid sprays fail to adequately control symptoms in approximately half of CRS patients. Reasons for inadequate quality of life benefit likely relate to insufficient drug dosing to the sinuses and the requirement for daily compliance.
LYR-210 is an implantable drug matrix designed by Lyra Therapeutics to locally deliver anti-inflammatory medication to the sinuses of CRS patients for up to 24 weeks. In the LANTERN Phase 2 study, LYR-210 demonstrated rapid, durable, and clinically meaningful global symptom improvement via the sinonasal outcome test (SNOT-22), a CRS-specific quality of life questionnaire. The SNOT-22 measures both CRS symptoms and social/emotional consequences including psychological and sleep dysfunction. Trial results showed that a single administration of LYR-210 provided up to 24 weeks of benefit in both physical CRS symptoms as well as social and emotional aspects of the disease.
The potential effect of LYR-210 on the quality of life of CRS patients was also observed based on the 36-item short form health survey (SF-36v2), which was also part of the LANTERN study. The SF-36v2 is a validated assessment used in clinical trials to measure physical and mental health across multiple diseases – not just for CRS. LYR-210 provided clinically important improvement in all mental component categories, as well as physical functioning, physical limitations, and bodily pain.
The effects of CRS go well beyond swollen and inflamed sinuses, affecting many aspects of daily life, contributing to the difficult journey many patients face when seeking relief. Quality-of-life metrics, including SNOT-22 and SF-36v2, provide insight into how CRS patients feel in response to treatment from both a physical and mental standpoint. Given the robust effect of LYR-210 on these assessments in the LANTERN study, LYR-210 may be a promising new therapy that has the potential to significantly improve symptoms and make a difference in the lives of patients.
[1] Orlandi RR, Kingdom TT, Smith TL, Bleier B, DeConde A, Luong AU, Poetker DM, Soler Z, Welch KC, Wise SK, Adappa N, Alt JA, Anselmo-Lima WT, Bachert C, Baroody FM, Batra PS, Bernal-Sprekelsen M, Beswick D, Bhattacharyya N, Chandra RK, Chang EH, Chiu A, Chowdhury N, Citardi MJ, Cohen NA, Conley DB, DelGaudio J, Desrosiers M, Douglas R, Eloy JA, Fokkens WJ, Gray ST, Gudis DA, Hamilos DL, Han JK, Harvey R, Hellings P, Holbrook EH, Hopkins C, Hwang P, Javer AR, Jiang RS, Kennedy D, Kern R, Laidlaw T, Lal D, Lane A, Lee HM, Lee JT, Levy JM, Lin SY, Lund V, McMains KC, Metson R, Mullol J, Naclerio R, Oakley G, Otori N, Palmer JN, Parikh SR, Passali D, Patel Z, Peters A, Philpott C, Psaltis AJ, Ramakrishnan VR, Ramanathan M Jr, Roh HJ, Rudmik L, Sacks R, Schlosser RJ, Sedaghat AR, Senior BA, Sindwani R, Smith K, Snidvongs K, Stewart M, Suh JD, Tan BK, Turner JH, van Drunen CM, Voegels R, Wang Y, Woodworth BA, Wormald PJ, Wright ED, Yan C, Zhang L, Zhou B. International consensus statement on allergy and rhinology: rhinosinusitis 2021. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2021 Mar;11(3):213-739. doi: 10.1002/alr.22741. Erratum in: Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2022 Jul;12(7):974. PMID: 33236525.
