Boston, MA 06/04/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA), the discoverer of the BELVIQ® drug, today announced initiating the dosage of a pivotal Phase 1b clinical trial of its novel APD334 drug.
Autoimmune Diseases
The APD334 is Arena’s novel oral drug contender which marks the sphingosine 1-phosphate subtype 1 (S1P1) receptor, to assess the efficacy of the compound in the therapy of various autoimmune diseases. These diseases are marked by an unsuitable immune response against tissues and substances that are usually a part of the body. In an autoimmune response, the immune cells and antibodies present in an individual’s body target healthy tissues. This leads to an inflammatory reaction. Hence, decreasing the immune response and/or the inflammatory reaction becomes one of the most important goals in treatment of such diseases.
New Trial
The Phase 1b trial is a randomized, placebo directed double blind trail and seeks to access the tolerability, safety and pharmacokinetics of compounded increasing dosage levels of APD334 in as many as 96 healthy adult people. The drug aims at the S1P1 receptor, having therapeutic capabilities in a wide range of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and sclerosis. These receptors are active in the modulation of many responses within the body, such as lymphocyte movement to peripheral blood from lymph nodes. Differentiating the lymphocytes from the nodes a decline in immune cells in the blood, which cause tissue damage, can be achieved. Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA) has optimized APD334 as a strong and discerning small molecule agonist against S1P1 receptor which causes a reduction in the disease severity in preclinical models.
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA)’s M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, William R. Shanahan, said that the company aims to continue growing and advancing its novel lineup of internally discovered contenders for drugs. He also said that the drug maker is to work with the commitment of fulfilling its objective of leading the pharmaceutical industry in the development discovery and selling of G Protein- Coupled Receptors controlled medicines.
