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DiaMedica today announces enrollment of the first patient in the phase II proof of concept clinical trial with DM-99, the Company's third drug candidate to enter phase II human trials
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA | August 11, 2008 | DiaMedica Inc. (CDNX:DMA.V - News), a drug discovery and clinical development company focused on a novel approach to treating type 2 diabetes, today announces enrollment of the first patient in the phase II proof of concept clinical trial with DM-99, the Company's third drug candidate to enter phase II human trials.
The single-blinded clinical trial being conducted in the European Union, will demonstrate DM-99's effectiveness at controlling blood glucose levels in 40 type 2 diabetes patients with HbA1c levels over 7.5%, after they have consumed a standardized meal. Change in insulin and/or glucose levels is the study's primary endpoint. Each patient will be tested for both the effects of treatment with DM-99 as well as a placebo, and will therefore serve as their own control in this cross over study. Results are expected at the end of 2008.
Pre-clinical animal studies on DM-99 were performed by Dr. David Wasserman, Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Ron Santo Chair in Diabetes at the Diabetes Research and Training Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. The amount of glucose being metabolized was measured using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp model. Specifically, healthy animals treated with DM-99 were able to metabolize 41% more glucose than untreated healthy animals (p less than 0.04) within the first sixty minutes of the drug being administered. The drug was also shown to have a very good safety profile.
"We believe that DM-99 both insulin sensitizes and hastens the onset of insulin action", commented Rick Pauls, DiaMedica's President and CEO. "We are looking forward to the outcome of this phase II trial because the pre-clinical research results were very compelling."
Diabetes is a widespread and rapidly growing disease, affecting over 180 million people world wide with over 90% of people with diabetes being diagnosed with the type 2 form of the disease. According to the World Health Organization, this number is expected to double during the next 15 years while the American Diabetes Association has estimated the annual economic cost in 2007 to the United States to be $174 billion. Global sales of oral diabetes drugs total $6 billion today and are expected to climb to $11 billion by 2011.
About DM-99
DM-99 is an oral biologic compound with a well established safety profile. Pre-clinical results from the Diabetes Research and Training Center at Vanderbilt University have shown that DM-99 is able to cause muscle to increase the uptake of glucose from the blood by over 40% (p less than 0.04) within 60 minutes of administration.
About DiaMedica
DiaMedica is developing novel treatments for various stages of type 2 diabetes. The Company has completed a phase IIa clinical trial with its lead product, DM-71, which demonstrated the ability to reduce HbA1c levels and weight in man. The Company recently completed a proof of concept phase II clinical trial with DM-83 that showed a reduction in the amount of peak insulin required to process glucose. This indicates that DM-83 may prolong the insulin producing ability of the pancreas. DiaMedica's third drug in clinical development, DM-99, is entering a phase II clinical trial.
SOURCE: DiaMedica |
