[ IDEC/anti-B7 crashes ]
IDEC Pharmaceuticals Announces Results of Phase II Clinical Trials of IDEC-114 Antibody in Psoriasis
Thursday September 5, 7:31 am ET
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2002--IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq: IDPH - News) today announced that it has completed a preliminary review of the clinical results of its two Phase II clinical trials of IDEC-114 for patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, and that the data did not support further development in this indication.
"The data indicated that while IDEC-114 was well-tolerated at the dose levels administered, the level of clinical efficacy seen did not support further study in psoriasis," said Paul Grint, M.D., Chief Medical Officer. "However, we are encouraged by the safety profile of this antibody, and are actively evaluating other immunologic disorders for Phase II clinical testing. We will focus on diseases where the immunopathology is mediated by CD4 cells rather than CD8 cells, which are known to be dependent for their activation on the pathway being blocked by IDEC-114," added Dr. Grint.
It is IDEC's intent to present detailed results from these studies at a future peer review venue. In the meantime, the development of IDEC-114 in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) continues as planned. IDEC is completing a Phase I, single-agent, multiple-dose trial of IDEC-114 in relapsed NHL and plans to begin accrual in a Phase I/II combination trial with Rituxan in relapsed low grade NHL.
IDEC-114 is a PRIMATIZED® anti-CD80 (anti-B7-1) monoclonal antibody that selectively targets an important co-stimulatory molecule on antigen-presenting cells. The antibody inhibits the binding of the B7-1 ligand on antigen-presenting cells to the CD28 receptor on T cells, thus blocking the second signal for inflammatory T-cell activation. Inappropriately activated T cells are implicated in many autoimmune disorders, making IDEC-114 potentially useful in a wide variety of disease states. |
