Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Drug news: SAR 1118

Whoopie, we finally have an addition to the Phase III trial drugs!

SARcode Bioscience announced on Sept. 14 that enrollment is underway for a Phase 3 trial of SAR 1118 ophthalmic solution:

First Patient Enrolled in SARcode Bioscience's Pivotal Dry Eye Study of SAR 1118 Ophthalmic Solution

BRISBANE, Calif., Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- SARcode Bioscience, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the initial patient has been enrolled in the company's pivotal Phase 3 clinical study (OPUS-1) of SAR 1118 ophthalmic solution.


SAR 1118 is a first-in-class molecule that inhibits T-cell inflammation by blocking the binding of two key cellular surface proteins (LFA-1 and ICAM-1) that mediate the chronic inflammatory cascade. SAR 1118 may be able to reduce inflammation associated with dry eye disease.

The OPUS-1 trial will study the safety and efficacy of SAR 1118 in the treatment of dry eye disease. Approximately 588 patients will be randomized to receive SAR 1118 5.0% ophthalmic solution or placebo twice daily over 12 weeks. The co-primary endpoints of the study are corneal fluorescein staining score and visual-related function score (reading, driving at night, computer use, and watching television) as measured by the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), a validated instrument designed to assess the impact of dry eye upon vision-related activities. The safety and tolerability of SAR 1118 compared to placebo at 12 weeks will also be evaluated.

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