Medarex Announces Initiation of Phase 2 Clinical Trials for the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Monday May 12, 8:00 am ET
[Nice to see that there is some movement on the IP-10 front. It has been pretty quiet from there for the last couple of years.
It is also (somewhat) encouraging to see that they have got an oral presentation slot to talk about the results from a phase I study. That should indicate that they have seen something positive to talk about].
Presentation of Phase 1 Clinical Data of MDX-1100 at Digestive Disease Week 2008
PRINCETON, N.J., May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medarex, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDX - News) announced today that it has initiated the Phase 2 clinical development program of MDX-1100, a fully human monoclonal antibody that targets CXCL10 (also known as IP-10), in ulcerative colitis (UC) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MDX-1100 could potentially treat UC and RA by suppressing the inflammatory process characteristic of these diseases.
"Based on positive safety data in Phase 1 studies, we have initiated patient enrollment in Phase 2 studies that are designed to establish proof-of-concept," said Geoffrey M. Nichol, M.B.Ch.B., Senior Vice President of Product Development at Medarex. "We are optimistic about the broad potential of MDX-1100 to address a range of inflammatory diseases."
Patients in the Phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center study in UC will be administered MDX-1100 at 10 mg/kg or placebo every 2 weeks for a total of 4 doses. All patients will have active UC and will continue standard UC therapy during the trial. The trial is expected to enroll 106 patients at multiple sites internationally. The primary endpoint of the study is the response rate at 8 weeks. Clinical response is based on the Mayo score, a composite endpoint that assesses stool frequency and the amount of bloody stool per day as recorded in a patient diary, physician global assessment and the assessment of colon mucosal inflammation ascertained by endoscopy.
Patients in the Phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center study in RA will be administered MDX-1100 at 10 mg/kg or placebo every 2 weeks for a total of 6 doses. All patients will have active RA while on methotrexate. The trial is expected to enroll 70 patients at multiple sites in Europe. The primary endpoint of the study is the ACR20 response, a composite endpoint that indicates a 20% improvement in RA signs and symptoms, at 12 weeks.
Medarex also announced that results from the MDX-1100 Phase 1 trials will be presented at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) meeting, being held May 17 - 22, 2008 in San Diego. The following abstracts are expected to be the subject of presentations at the DDW 2008 conference:
-- "A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Escalation, Safety and Pharmacokinetic Study of MDX-1100, a Fully Human Anti-CXCL10 Monoclonal Antibody, in Healthy Subjects" (Abstract #T1145) - Poster presentation on May 20, 2008 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM CDT.
-- "A Phase 1 Open-Label, Single-Dose, Dose-Escalation Study of MDX-1100, a High-Affinity, Neutralizing, Fully Human IgG1k Anti-CXCL10 (IP10) Monoclonal Antibody, in Ulcerative Colitis" (Abstract #704) - Oral presentation on May 20, 2008 from 3:00 to 3:15 PM CDT.
-- "CXCL10 Expression and Biological Activities in Inflammatory Bowel Disease" (Abstract #W1170) - Poster presentation on May 21, 2008 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM CDT.
These presentations support the development of MDX-1100 for the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis.
About MDX-1100
MDX-1100 is a fully human antibody that targets CXCL10 (also known as IP-10), a chemokine expressed in association with multiple inflammatory disease indications such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis. |
