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Biotech / Medical : NPSP NPS Pharmaceutical -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Icebrg who wrote (172)	10/8/2003 7:39:00 PM
From: SemiBull	Respond to of 363

NPS Pharmaceuticals Announces Completion Of Top Study Dosing, Launch Of Crohn's Trial Wednesday October 8, 2:57 am ET SALT LAKE CITY (Dow Jones)--NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. completed the dosing of patients involved in a study of Preos, which aims to reduce fracture rates in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, and launched a study of teduglutide in treating patients with Crohn's disease. In a press release, NPS said the 18-month phase III trial for Preos enrolled almost 2,700 women at about 165 clinical centers in North America, Latin America and Europe. More than 75% of the patients also chose to continue in the open label extension study, which allows women to receive active drug therapy for up to 24 months of treatment. NPS expects to report results of the Preos study late in the first quarter of 2004. On Sept. 22, shares of NPS fell 9.6% after a study showed Preos didn't work in conjunction with Merck & Co.'s Fosamax drug, which one analyst suggested could limit the drug's shelf life. Preos, a human parathyroid hormone, is intended to help build bone rather than simply prevent bone loss as patients age. Preos is supposed to come to market in 2005. In NPS' proof-of-concept study with teduglutide, which aims to lower the activity level of Crohn's disease, about 100 patients will be divided into four groups. Three groups will receive various doses of teduglutide, and the fourth group will get a placebo, with all doses administered by daily subcutaneous injections for eight weeks. NPS expects to report the results of the study by the end of 2004. Teduglutide is an analog of the hormone GLP-2 that is in phase II clinical development for the treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders. NPS has completed a phase IIa study with teduglutide in patients with short bowel syndrome and intends to continue to develop the compound for this and other indications, according to the Sept. 12 Drug Week. NPS said in its release that in previous human tests, teduglutide produced a significant growth effect on cells that line the intestines. Shares of NPS closed Tuesday at $28.29, up 6 cents, or 0.2%, in Nasdaq trading. Company Web site: npsp.com -Lisa Reynolds; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400