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Biotech / Medical : DECODE GENETICS-*DCGN -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nigel bates who wrote (235)	6/26/2006 8:28:03 AM
From: nigel bates	Respond to of 313

deCODE Announces Positive Results From Preliminary Phase II Clinical Trial of CEP-1347 in Asthma Monday June 26, 4:08 am ET REYKJAVIK, Iceland, June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN - News) today announced positive results from its preliminary Phase II clinical trial (Phase IIa) of Cephalon Inc.'s (Nasdaq: CEPH - News) CEP-1347 in asthma. Data on patients receiving active drug in the trial were consistent with a dose-dependent improvement in some parameters of lung function examined in the study, including methacholine challenge test and peak expiratory flow rates, as well as in a biomarker associated with asthma severity and inflammation. There was no evidence of safety and tolerability concerns. The study was randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and enrolled 160 patients divided evenly into four groups, three receiving various doses of active drug and one receiving placebo. The trial, conducted by deCODE under a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Cephalon, was based upon deCODE's discovery of variants in the gene encoding the MAP3K9 kinase as risk factors for the development of asthma. The MAP3K9 kinase acts within a pathway targeted by CEP-1347. "Through our genetics work we have put our finger on an important biological pathway involved in asthma; the results of this trial indicate that CEP-1347 can positively affect this pathway in a safe and well-tolerated manner," said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE. "This is an exciting opportunity to bring forward a novel, non-steroidal treatment for one of the most common chronic conditions in the industrialized world. This is also a stellar example of the way in which we are using genetics to develop new methods to treat and prevent common diseases. We presented the data from the trial to Cephalon at the end of last week, and we look forward to discussing with them how to further examine the beneficial effects of CEP-1347 in asthma patients."...