Hungary Richter, US Forest Announce Positive Drug Tests
October 29 2009 - 4:47AM
Dow Jones News
Hungarian drug maker Richter Gedeon Nyrt. (RICHTER.BU) and
Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) announced positive drug test results
on cariprazine Thursday in a stock exchange filing.
"The results strengthen our commitment to conduct original
research in the field of central nervous system disorders, where
our team has excellent expertise," the release cited Erik Bogsch,
chief executive of Richter as saying.
Based on the data - still subject to a complete review of the
full results - and the previously announced Phase II results in
patients suffering from acute mania associated with bipolar I
disorder, the companies intend to initiate Phase 3 trials for both
indications in early 2010. "Our strategy to invest in promising
product opportunities ... continues to bear fruit and we are
looking forward to advancing to the late-stage cariprazine
development program," the release cited Howard Solomon, Chairman
and Chief Executive of Forest Laboratories as saying.
The companies announced top-line results from a Phase IIb
clinical trial of the novel, investigational antipsychotic agent
cariprazine for the treatment of acute exacerbation of
schizophrenia.
PANSS, or Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, data indicated
that patients with schizophrenia treated with cariprazine
experienced significant symptom improvement compared to placebo
patients within the first week of treatment and at each subsequent
time point studied.
Cariprazine is currently also undergoing Phase II clinical
trials in patients with Bipolar Depressive Disorder and as
adjunctive therapy in Major Depressive Disorder.
Discovered by researchers at Richter and licensed in the United
States and Canada by Forest Laboratories in 2004, cariprazine is an
orally active D3/D2 partial agonist with preferential binding to D3
receptors.
Richter Web site: www.richter.hu