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TIDMPRX
Proximagen Group PLC
29 February 2012
PROXIMAGEN GROUP PLC
("Proximagen" or "the Company")
Proximagen Initiates Phase I Clinical Trial of PRX167700
Oral Vascular Adhesion Protein-1 antagonist for the treatment of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis
London, UK, 29 February 2012 - Proximagen Group plc (AIM: PRX), the rapidly growing company with a focus on the treatment of disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) and inflammatory diseases, announces that it had commenced dosing in a Phase I clinical trial of PRX167700, a Vascular Adhesion Protein-1 (VAP-1) antagonist, for the treatment of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriasis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, progressive and disabling auto-immune disease, currently affecting approximately 1% of the world's population. According to Datamonitor estimates, annual sales of RA treatments in the seven major markets will be $15bn in 2012, rising to $18bn by 2016. Current treatments typically include monoclonal antibodies that are injected under the skin, as well as oral steroids and methotrexate. Each of these current therapies is associated with serious unwanted side effects and approximately 30% of patients fail to respond to treatment.
Proximagen's PRX167700 is an oral drug candidate that is expected to work by regulating the movement of immune cells from the blood into sites of inflammation, thereby modulating the underlying inflammatory process and relieving the symptoms of inflammation. This mode of action provides the potential for a disease modifying effect, whereby modulating the movement of the damaging immune cells to the sites of inflammation also stops further damage caused by the disease. In addition to efficacy shown in models of RA, PRX167700 has demonstrated efficacy in models of multiple sclerosis and inflammatory pain. Regulating the movement of immune cells is also important in these two diseases, indicating that PRX167700 has potential utility in multiple disease areas of high unmet medical need.
This Phase I trial is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single and multiple ascending oral doses of PRX167700 in healthy male subjects, and the effect of food on the pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of the drug. The study will also investigate the relationship between the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of single and multiple ascending oral doses of PRX167700. The first results are anticipated in H2 2012.
PRX167700 was developed by Proximagen following the acquisition of Cambridge Biotechnology Limited in late 2009.
In addition to PRX167700, Proximagen has two clinical stage CNS compounds in development for epilepsy and a pipeline of other clinical and preclinical assets in the fields of CNS, inflammation and oncology.
Proximagen's Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth Mulvany, said: "We are excited to have started dosing this novel drug in its first clinical trial. We believe that the drug will offer a highly effective oral alternative to existing injectable therapies for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating and highly prevalent disease. This study initiation marks another significant achievement for Proximagen as we continue to advance our broad pipeline."
Professor Chris Buckley, Arthritis Research Campaign Chair of Rheumatology at the University of Birmingham, said: "Rheumatoid arthritis is an important chronic immune mediated inflammatory disease. I am pleased to see Proximagen's VAP-1 antagonist entering the clinic and look forward to seeing the data which will hopefully provide new and orally effective treatments for patients suffering from this disorder."
Enquiries:
Proximagen Group plc Tel: +44 (0)20
7400 7700
Kenneth Mulvany, Chief Executive
Officer
James Hunter, Finance Director
Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Tel: +44 (0)20
Adviser) 3205 7500
Shaun Dobson/Claes Spang
M:Communications (Media enquiries) Tel: +44 (0)20
7920 2330
Mary-Jane Elliott / Mary Clark proximagen@mcomgroup.com
/ Hollie Vile
About Proximagen
Proximagen Group plc (AIM:PRX) is a European biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel therapeutics for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and inflammation.
The Company is developing potential new best-in-class therapeutics in its core disease areas including epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as in other areas such as inflammation, oncology and neuropathic pain.
Proximagen has a number of existing partnerships with pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Upsher-Smith and Lundbeck, and is developing a broad pipeline of drug candidate programmes, with four programmes in clinical development and more than ten earlier stage assets being progressed.
Proximagen's strategy is to advance its pipeline with its partners and to acquire innovative drug candidates that complement its pipeline, with the objective of scaling up its risk-mitigated operating model and generating sustainable profits.
For more information, please visit www.proximagen.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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