Peptimmune Initiates Trial Of PI-2301 In Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Peptimmune, Inc. a privately held biotechnology company, announced that physicians have treated the first participant in a clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of PI-2301 in subjects with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SP-MS). PI-2301 is a novel peptide copolymer for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.

The Phase Ib multiple-ascending dose, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study will involve up to fifty-three subjects with SP-MS who will receive the drug once weekly in four escalating-dose cohorts. Following establishment of safety at potentially therapeutic doses and proof of pharmacologic mechanism, the Company plans to initiate its Phase II study in multiple sclerosis patients in early 2009.

PI-2301 is a second-generation peptide copolymer from a similar compound class as Copaxone (Teva Pharmaceuticals). PI-2301 works through immune modulation by enhancing the regulatory response of the immune system and thereby controlling the pathogenic autoimmune response observed in some diseases. In a Phase I single ascending dose, double blind placebo controlled randomized study, all doses of PI-2301 were safe and well tolerated, and no serious adverse events were observed. Pharmacodynamic assays demonstrated evidence of immune exposure consistent with the pharmacologic mechanism of action for PI-2301, and dose-dependent pharmacokinetics was observed.

PI-2301 has been optimized using Peptimmune's novel platform peptide chemistry and, in preclinical studies, has shown to be more potent and effective than Copaxone in treating disease models for multiple sclerosis. PI-2301 has also shown efficacy in preclinical models of autoimmune diseases where immune modulation may be effective, such as Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune uveitis. Peptimmune has put in place high-quality synthesis and analytical methods that provide a superior level of batch-to- batch reproducibility in the manufacturing of PI-2301.

Over 400,000 Americans have multiple sclerosis (MS), and MS may affect over 2.5 million individuals worldwide. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the individuals' immune system responds against multiple components of nerve- insulating myelin. The effects of these immune-mediated attacks can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted.