Arena, Ortho-McNeil initiate phase 1 trial for type 2 diabetes oral drug candidate

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., Feb. 7 - Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that Ortho-McNeil, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, initiated a phase 1 clinical trial of APD668, a novel orally administered drug candidate discovered by Arena for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The phase 1 clinical trial triggers a $5 million milestone payment to Arena under its collaboration with Ortho-McNeil, according to a company news release.

The collaboration is for the development of compounds targeting the Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Receptor, or GDIR. The GDIR is a novel receptor with the potential to stimulate insulin production in response to increases in blood glucose.

Ortho-McNeil's phase 1 clinical trial will enroll healthy volunteers in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single escalating doses of APD668. The phase 1 trial will also include measuring responses to a glucose challenge to examine early evidence of potential efficacy in treating Type 2 diabetes. Arena said therapies for type 2 diabetes are directed toward correcting the body's inadequate response with oral and injectable medications, or directly modifying insulin levels. The worldwide market for diabetes medications exceeded $10 billion and oral anti-diabetes drugs exceeded $6 billion in 2004.

Arena is a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focusing on small molecule drugs in four

major therapeutic areas: metabolic, central nervous system, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases.

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