Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers
(BW HealthWire) — IDEC Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:IDPH) today announced that it has begun a Phase I clinical trial with the company’s investigational PRIMATIZED(R) anti-CD23 monoclonal antibody, IDEC-152, in patients with allergic asthma. The study will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of a single dose of the investigational agent.
IDEC-152 has the potential to decrease the body’s response to allergens, thereby affecting diseases related to asthma and allergic disorders. IDEC’s monoclonal antibody binds to the CD23 receptor. By binding to this receptor, IDEC-152 may favorably influence asthma through its selective regulation of Immunoglobulin E (IgE) production and its inhibition of other inflammatory pathways.
“Allergic asthma is a disabling and life-threatening disease in the U.S., and one that affects a large and growing percentage of the population,” said Richard G. Lizambri, M.D., director, Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases. “Current therapies for asthma are limited by their long-term toxicity and their insufficient efficacy in the most severely affected patients.”
Clinical studies have implicated allergens in the development of asthma in up to 80 percent of patients with this disease.
“IDEC-152 represents a novel agent for the treatment of asthma and other allergic conditions,” said Nabil Hanna, Ph.D., IDEC’s chief scientific officer. “This is the third antibody in clinical trials utilizing IDEC’s proprietary PRIMATIZED technology, a technology that reduces the potential for rejection by the immune system and extends IDEC’s use of antibody-based therapy to chronic diseases, such as asthma, psoriasis and systemic lupus erythyematous (SLE).
IDEC has exclusive commercial rights of IDEC-152 in North America, Central America and South America. Seikagaku Corporation has licensed its commercial rights in Europe and Asia.
IDEC Pharmaceuticals focuses on the commercialization and development of targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. IDEC’s antibody products act chiefly through immune system mechanisms, exerting their effect by binding to specific, readily targeted immune cells in the patient’s blood or lymphatic systems.
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The statements made in this press release contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from IDEC’s expectations. In addition to the matters described in this press release, timelines for ongoing and future clinical activity are subject to change, results of pending or future clinical trials cannot be accurately predicted, and decisions by the FDA and other regulatory agencies including their determination as to whether there is sufficient clinical data and compliance with all other requirements to support product licensure, as well as the risk factors listed from time to time in IDEC’s SEC filings, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 1999, may affect the actual results achieved by IDEC.
IDEC Pharmaceuticals and PRIMATIZED are registered U.S. trademarks of the company. The company’s headquarters is located at 11011 Torreyana Road, San Diego, CA 92121.
CONTACT: IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation Vince Reardon, 858/431-8801 KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PHARMACEUTICAL MEDICAL PRODUCT