Metabolic Solutions Development Co. has launched a new round of trials for the second treatment option it is developing for Type 2 diabetes.
The Kalamazoo-based drug discovery and development company is moving into what is known as a Phase 2A -- a 28-day, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Approximately 125 patients at 15 planned sites throughout the United States will be part of the trial.
The new therapy, which the company currently calls MSDC-0602, improves the action of insulin in the body in a way that patients do not have the fluid retention or weight gain that those treated with the currently marketed experience, says Dr. Jerry Colca, president and chief scientific officer of MSDC.
MSDC's drug portfolio is built on the idea that current therapies for Type 2 diabetics hit the wrong target in the body. As a result, negative side effects occur.
The company's first drug, MSDC-0160, proved the "all the benefits without the side effects" hypothesis in a 28-day trial in 2009. That drug is now in a 90 day extended trial.
MSDC-0602 is the company's second compound. It is very similar to MSDC-0160. This trial is the first in which MSDC-0602 will be tested in diabetics. Earlier testing focused on safety in the general population, not diabetics. This is the industry's standard practice.
As part of the upcoming trial MSDC-0602 against the market leader, Actos, also called pioglitizone, and a placebo.
Since it was founded in 2006 the Metabolic Solutions Development Co. has raised nearly $50 million for its work.
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Jerry Colca, Metabolic Solutions Development Co.
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