DUBLIN, IRELAND--(MARKET WIRE)--Mar 12, 2009 -- AGI Therapeutics plc ("AGI" or
the"Company") (AIM, IEX: AGI), a speciality pharmaceutical development
company focused on gastrointestinal drug products, today announces
positive results in a Phase II proof of concept study of AGI-004 in the
control of chemotherapy-induced diarrhoea (CID). AGI-004 is a
once-daily controlled release transdermal patch containing the
nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine. The study was conducted in 64
patients across seven sites in Europe and evaluated two doses of
AGI-004 compared to placebo.
The results showed a statistically significant difference in the
primary endpoint of reducing the incidence of patient-recorded
diarrhoea (response defined as less than 4 bowel movements per day). This
was
observed at the higher of two doses of AGI-004 when compared with
placebo. The robust response for the higher dose of AGI-004 was further
supported by a statistically significant difference in the secondary
endpoint of patient recorded severity of diarrhoea, while positive
trends were observed in the other secondary measurement of reduction in
the use of rescue anti-diarrhoeal medications. Non-significant benefit
in the primary endpoint was also observed with the lower dose and, when
diarrhoea was rated by the physician using the National Cancer
Institute (NCI) grading system, both doses demonstrated positive
improvements. Similarly, positive trends were also observed for the
higher dose in the co-primary endpoint of reducing the number of bowel
movements per day.
While some benefit was seen with the lower dose in treating individual
symptoms, the overall results are consistent with a dose response
effect. In addition to the full cycle results described above, an
analysis of acute (first day of chemotherapy) data, confirmed the
robust control of diarrhoea at the higher dose. AGI-004 treatment was
well tolerated across both doses and there were no drug-related serious
adverse events.
Commenting on the results of the study, Dr. John Devane, CEO, said ''We
are pleased with the outcome of this study which we believe supports
the continued development of AGI-004 as a novel anti-diarrhoeal agent.
CID is a common and debilitating side effect which affects many
patients undergoing chemotherapy. Although designed as an exploratory
study, we observed a strong signal of efficacy for AGI-004 across
multiple measurements of diarrhoea, in particular with the higher dose
used in the study. The development of AGI-004 in a convenient
transdermal patch, which can reduce the occurrence of diarrhoea in
chemotherapy patients, offers a significant therapeutic advantage over
current standard of care.''
Contact Information:
AGI Therapeutics plc. Tel: +353 1 449 3254
David Kelly, Chief Financial Officer
FD - UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7269 7205
Jonathan Birt/John Dineen
FD - Ireland Tel: +353 1 663 3607
Niamh Lyons
Piper Jaffray Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 3142 8700
Neil Mackison
Will Carnwath
Davy Tel: +353 1 614 8761
John Frain
For further information please see http://www.agitherapeutics.com.
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