Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:EPIX) has soared more than 50% at the opening on Nasdaq today, after announcing "compelling results" in a Phase IIa two-week clinical trial for PRX-03140 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Patients suffering from mild Alzheimer's disease receiving 150 mg of PRX-03140 orally once daily as monotherapy achieved a mean 5.7 point improvement on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) versus a 0.2 point worsening in patients on placebo.
The Phase IIa clinical trial included 80 patients at 17 sites in the US.
Epix CEO Dr. Michael G. Kauffman said, “We are very excited by the measurable impact on memory and cognition, achieved in such a short period of time, in a trial that was designed primarily to assess safety and tolerability. While we recognize that this is a two-week study on a relatively small population of patients, these statistically significant results, as well as the anecdotal reports we have received from study investigators and patients’ families since the trial concluded, support our belief that PRX-03140 has the potential to improve memory and cognition. We look forward to initiating a larger Phase 2b clinical trial early next year to further explore the potential of PRX-03140.”
A second trial group, given a dosage of 50 mg of PRX-03140, also showed clear improvement with an improvement of 1.1 points. Epix said that the results showed better and faster improvement on the ADAS-cog scale than leading drugs now on the market, which have $4 billion in sales.
The drug showed no side effects, compared with other drugs which affect patients' digestion. The company hopes to begin Phase IIb clinical trials in the first half of 2008.
Epix closed at $2.97 yesterday, giving a market cap of $107 million, before today's announcement. After the pre-market rise in the share, its market cap reached $163 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 18, 2007
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