CombinatoRx drug misses primary goal in gum disease trial

6th June 2006: A drug being developed by biopharmaceutical company CombinatoRx has failed to reach its primary endpoint of reducing inflammation in patients with a bacterial gum disease in a trial.
This trial was designed to determine how CRx-150, an immuno-modulating agent, would affect various systemic inflammatory markers in individuals with periodontitis in both the acute and chronic phase of immuno-inflammation.

The drug, CRx-150, did not reduce C-reactive protein (CRP) in the chronic inflammatory phase, the primary endpoint of the trial, as measured after 42 days.

There were small or no differences between CRx-150 and placebo for the other inflammatory markers measured including IL-1, IL-8, IL-12 and IFN-gamma.

"Further study of CRx-150 will be required to understand the magnitude of its effects, given the activity in the acute phase of this model, and we look forward to results of the CRx-150 phase II trial in patients with rheumatoid arthritis expected in the first half of 2007," commented Alexis Borisy, president and CEO of CombinatoRx.

Source: Datamonitor