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| Apollo begins tests of arthritis drugs in tablet form |
Making life easier for patients | Apollo’s world-first technique for delivering arthritis drugs in tablet form is beginning animal trials.
Drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, known as TNF blockers, are usually injected or given via intravenous drip – which is very inconvenient for patients and can take up to two hours. TNF blockers are regarded as among the best treatments for arthritis, relieving its symptoms and slowing the speed of joint damage.
The market for TNF blockers is worth approximately $8.5 billion globally. TNF blockers were the top selling biotech drugs in 2005, and are growing in popularity in the treatment of inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn’s disease.
Apollo has developed its own TNF blocker – ALS-00T2 – for delivery in tablet form. It has already proven effective at reducing inflammation in animal trials when injected or rubbed on the skin, and has completed Phase 1b clinical human trials for psoriasis.
Apollo’s oral delivery system, known as OradelTM, will potentially transform the experience for patients. A special tablet coating stops the drug being degraded in the stomach and delivers it into the circulatory system where it can do its work. This could also save the health system substantial amounts of money by reducing the number of patients visiting doctors’ offices to have drips administered.
“The early indications show great promise of real benefits for arthritis sufferers,” said Dr Greg Russell-Jones, Apollo’s Science Director. “Our earlier pre-clinical results suggest that our TNF blocker has advantages over existing multi-billion dollar products. The studies also showed it is less likely to cause immune reactions.”
Apollo will begin animal trials of ALS-00T2 using OradelTM as the basis for needle-free delivery. The trials will assess whether the TNF blocker delivered orally is effective at reducing inflammation in mice. “We look forward to developing our tablet TNF blocker further and hope to begin clinical human trials in 2007.”
“Successful studies with the TNF blocker will pave the way for using OradelTM technology with any of the current antibody therapy technologies on the market. In other words, antibodies used in medicine that today have to be injected will be able to be delivered in tablet form.”
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| www.apollolifescience.com |
