a competitive project to watch?......
Tuesday August 31, 5:01 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Discovery Therapeutics Enters Phase I Clinical Trials
With Cardiac Drug -- DTI-0009
RICHMOND, Va.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 31, 1999--Discovery Therapeutics Inc.
(DTI) announced that it has initiated Phase I clinical trials with oral and injectable
formulations of DTI-0009, a new treatment for acute and chronic cardiac conditions
associated with abnormally high heart rates. In pre-clinical studies, DTI-0009, a selective adenosine A1 agonist, was shown to
be effective in treating a heart condition known as PSVT (paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia).
This drug also has the potential to control the tachycardia associated with atrial fibrillation. Such supraventricular tachycardias
affect more than 2 million people in the U.S. each year.
DTI submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on July 12, 1999 for
DTI-0009, and will be enrolling up to 88 subjects in the Phase I studies.
DTI recently announced an agreement with Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc. to develop an injectable form of DTI-0009. DTI will
conduct the Phase I clinical trial while Fujisawa will be responsible for the remaining clinical development and commercialization
of this product. Fujisawa has exclusive rights to the injectable product in the United States and Canada. DTI retains
international rights for the injectable formulation and worldwide rights for the oral formulation.
''We believe that DTI-0009 represents the next generation in the treatment of PSVT and is a potential breakthrough in the
treatment of atrial fibrillation, the most prevalent of cardiac arrhythmias,'' said Dr. Donald McAfee, chief executive officer of
Discovery.
DTI-0009 is Discovery Therapeutics' third product currently in clinical trials. Previous products include, MRE 0470, partnered
with Medco Research Inc. for the diagnosis of coronary heart disease, and SPM-962, partnered with Schwarz Pharma A.G.
for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Discovery Therapeutics, headquartered in Richmond, Va., is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
focused on the discovery, development, and marketing of therapeutics for cardio-renal diseases.
Contact:
Discovery Therapeutics Inc.
Donald A. McAfee, Ph.D. and
Dennis P. Schafer, 804/358-9468
or
IR PR Strategies, LLC
Susan Atkins, 858/451-0772 |
