Drug news: One more quickie on RGN-259

Between the good clinical results they're getting on RGN-259 and problems plaguing another unrelated drug they're working on, RGN-259 has been promoted to a real priority for this company which hopefully will translate to good news for US.

RegeneRx Focuses Immediate Clinical Development on Dry Eye Indication with RGN-259, Provides Update on AMI Phase 2 Study Clinical Hold

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: RGRX) (“the Company” or “RegeneRx”) announced today that it has shifted its near-term clinical development focus to RGN-259, its preservative-free topical eye drop, for the treatment of symptomatic dry eye. This reprioritization of the Company’s product pipeline is primarily due to recently announced data supporting the development of RGN-259 for this indication.

In two studies evaluating RGN-259 to treat symptomatic dry eye induced in mice, RGN-259 resulted in statistically significant improvement of corneal healing compared with negative and positive controls. Previous studies in animal models have also shown the ability of RGN-259 to repair the cornea after chemical damage. Following these animal data, and in conjunction with previously reported human clinical data, RegeneRx is expediting its ophthalmic clinical program and is planning a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with dry eye that will be designed to measure the safety and efficacy of RGN-259 in this indication. This will be in addition to a physician-sponsored clinical trial in patients with dry eye that is currently being supported by RegeneRx in the form of manufacturing and regulatory and clinical guidance.

The Company’s decision to refocus its development efforts on dry eye also results from uncertainty caused by the previously announced clinical hold of the Company’s Phase 2 clinical trial with its RGN-352 product candidate for patients who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as heart attack. As previously reported, this trial has been placed on clinical hold by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) compliance issues at one of the Company’s contract manufacturers. While RegeneRx seeks to resolve the compliance issues with the FDA and its manufacturer, the Company cannot predict how long the trial will be on clinical hold. If the FDA were to require re-manufacture of either RGN-352 or placebo for the trial, it would significantly delay enrollment and would require RegeneRx to bear substantial additional cost associated with the trial.

“Because of the new positive data that complement our earlier human and animal ophthalmic data, the relatively short timeframe in which we believe we can generate human dry eye data in a Phase 2 trial, and the significantly reduced cost as compared with the Phase 2 AMI trial, we believe it is in the best interest of the Company and our stockholders to place our highest priority on the clinical development of RGN-259. We are fortunate to have several drug candidates in development and the ability to quickly reprioritize our clinical focus,” stated J.J. Finkelstein, RegeneRx’s president and chief executive officer.