A study to Assess Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of of AZD6553 in Healthy Volunteers and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

AZD6553 is a new drug being developed as a possible treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD refers to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of two commonly co-existing diseases of the lungs in which the airways become inflamed and the small airsacs of the lungs become damaged. This leads to a limitation of the flow of air to and from the lungs causing shortness of breath. In contrast to asthma, the limitation of airflow is poorly reversible and usually gets progressively worse over time. There is an urgent medical need for therapies that could slow disease progression by targeting the underlying mechanisms associated with the changes in the lungs in patients with COPD. AZD6553 acts by reducing the activity of a protease found to be involved in the disease process in COPD. AZD6553 is being developed as a novel oral treatment to control the symptoms and exacerbations of COPD, and reduce the progression and severity of the disease. The purpose of this research study is to determine how safe and well-tolerated AZD6553 is and how much AZD6553 enters blood circulation by collecting blood and urine samples during the study. We are also investigating what AZD6553 is broken down into, when given orally, how much of the drug is cleared from the body via the kidneys, and the effect of taking the drug after food. This will all be done by analysis of blood and urine samples taken at various point during the study.