Neurogen Corporation Announces Phase I Clinical Trial for Insomnia Drug
BRANFORD, Conn., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Neurogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NRGN - news), a small-molecule drug discovery and development company, today announced that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE - news) has commenced Phase I clinical trials of NGD 96-3, a leading drug candidate for treating insomnia, and one of several drug candidates being developed as the result of a collaboration with Pfizer. The Phase I clinical trial being conducted by Pfizer is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of the safety and pharmacokinetics of single rising oral doses of NGD 96-3, which selectively modulates receptors of the GABAA (gamma aminobutyric) neurotransmitter system.
William H. Koster, PhD, President and CEO of Neurogen, said, ``NGD 96-3 has been designed to treat insomnia while addressing several unmet market needs. We are taking a unique approach with selective and partial GABAA receptor subtype modulation in order to facilitate sleep. Our goals are to avoid next day sedative effects and poor memory, while providing uninterrupted sleep through the night for the over 50% of adults in this country who complain of insomnia.''
Neurogen and Pfizer have focused on developing subtype selective GABAA - based drugs for the treatment of insomnia, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety and depression. Pfizer is responsible for clinical development and commercialization, while Neurogen has rights to receive milestone and royalty payments on GABA-based drugs from the collaboration. Pfizer is currently conducting a Phase IIa study with Neurogen's lead drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, NGD 97-1.
Dr. Koster and James Cassella, PhD, Vice President Clinical Development, will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the Phase I clinical trials of NGD 96-3 at 10:00 a.m. EST today. The webcast will be available in the Investor Relations section of www.neurogen.com at that time and will be archived on the website for one week following. A replay of the call will be available after 1:00 p.m. EST March 11, 2002 and accessible through the close of business, March 15, 2002. To replay the conference call, dial 877-693-4281. No pass code is required.
About Neurogen Corp.
Neurogen Corporation (NASDAQ: NRGN - news) is a leading small molecule drug discovery and development company targeting new drug candidates to improve the lives of patients suffering from neurological, inflammatory, and metabolic disorders. Neurogen has generated a portfolio of compelling new drug programs through its fully integrated drug discovery platform, successfully solving complex issues in the discovery of small molecule drugs for valuable targets. Neurogen's strategy is to advance a mix of proprietary drugs independently and, when advantageous, collaborate with world-class pharmaceutical companies during the drug development process to obtain additional resources and to access complementary expertise. Neurogen's Accelerated Intelligent Drug Discovery (AIDD) process and its expertise in cellular functional assays are key discriminators in the Company's ability to rapidly and cost effectively identify active compounds during the drug discovery process. |
