Paediatric ulcerative colitis drug gets orphan designation
Posted: 11 August 2017 | Dr Zara Kassam (Drug Target Review) | No comments yet
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted an orphan-drug designation to cobitolimod for the treatment of ulcerative colitis in pediatric patients…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an orphan-drug designation to cobitolimod for the treatment of ulcerative colitis in paediatric patients.
“We are pleased that the FDA has granted orphan-drug designation for cobitolimod for treatment of ulcerative colitis in children, which may provide seven years of market exclusivity in this indication on the US market,” said Peter Zerhouni, CEO of InDex Pharmaceuticals.
Cobitolimod is a new type of drug that can help patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis back to a normal life. It is a so-called Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, that can provide an anti-inflammatory effect locally in the large intestine, which may induce mucosal healing and relief of the clinical symptoms in ulcerative colitis. Cobitolimod has achieved clinical proof-of-concept in moderate to severe active ulcerative colitis, with a very favourable safety profile.
Data from four placebo-controlled clinical trials indicate that cobitolimod has statistically significant effects on those endpoints that are most relevant in this disease, both from a regulatory and clinical perspective. These endpoints include the key clinical symptoms such as blood in stool, number of stools, and mucosal healing, respectively.
Cobitolimod is also known as Kappaproct and DIMS0150.
Related topics
Orphan drugs
Related conditions
ulcerative colitis
Related organisations
InDex Pharmaceuticals, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Related people
Peter Zerhouni