Abott, CAT arthritis drug shows promise in trials
LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - A new rheumatoid arthritis drug discovered by Cambridge Antibody Technology Plc (CAT.L) and being developed by Abbott Laboratories Inc (NYSE:ABT - news) has shown promise in Phase III tests, according to scientific abstracts published on Monday.
Data from two late-stage tests, which will be formally presented at a European arthritis meeting in Stockholm in June, showed D2E7 achieved similar efficacy as market leader Enbrel, with a significantly superior dosing regime.
Enbrel, made by Immunex Corp (NasdaqNM:IMNX - news), needs to be injected twice a week, while D2E7 can be given once a week or every other week.
Results of the two six-month trials were released on the website of the European League Against Rheumatism (www.eular.org) and showed the new drug's ability to ease the effects of the disease, based on a complex scoring system.
The studies looked at D2E7 in monotherapy and in combination with an existing disease-modifying anti-rheumatism drug called methotrexate.
"I had high hopes for the drug and this data confirms those," said Erica Whittaker, biotechnology analyst at Merrill Lynch.
D2E7, like Enbrel, is designed to intercept the process that causes joint inflammation by targeting and blocking the activity of proteins that regulate the body's inflammatory response.
Abbott earlier this month filed for regulatory approval for the product, which Merrill Lynch believes will generate peak annual sales of $850 million.
Cambridge Antibody will receive a gross royalty payment of around five percent on Abbott's sales.
Shares in CAT, which earlier announced it was dropping its C$126 million ($80.7 million) offer for Canada's Drug Royalty Corp Inc following a rival offer, ended 2.6 percent lower at 11.45 pounds.
Instead of proceeding with the takeover, CAT will now buy itself out of a revenue-sharing deal with DRC at a cost of some six million pounds... |
