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Anti-sense drug meets mid-stage goals
Submitted by art on Wed, 2008-07-09 07:21.
Teva Pharmaceuticals said its multiple sclerosis drug met goals of a mid-stage trial, and the company will conduct further research before advancing to Phase III trials.
The drug, ATL/TV1102, is being developed by Israel's Teva and Australia's Antisense Therapeutics. In a study of 77 patients in six European countries, the drug was shown to reduce the number of new brain lesions by 54.4 percent after eight weeks, compared with placebo.
ATL/TV1102, initially discovered by Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and then licensed to Antisense Therapeutics, is known as an antisense drug as it targets disease-causing proteins, preventing them from functioning.