Dezima starts DEZ-001 Phase 2b study in patients with mild dyslipidemia

Dezima Pharma ('Dezima'), the biotechnology company developing innovative drugs in the field of dyslipidemia, announced today the initiation of a double blind, placebo controlled, Phase 2b dose ranging study of DEZ-001 (previously TA-8995), alone and in combination with statins, in order to study the effects on a wide range of lipids and other biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with mild dyslipidemia.

“Being the most potent CETP inhibitor in clinical development with excellent safety, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties we firmly believe that our compound can further improve the outcome for patients suffering from cardiovascular disease due to dyslipidemia.”

The TULIP ("TA-8995: its Use in patients with mild dysLIPidemia") study will take place in specialized centres across Denmark and the Netherlands and will investigate the effects of different doses of DEZ-001 on established CVD biomarkers over a 3 month dosing period. DEZ-001 is a CETP inhibitor that has already demonstrated clinically relevant improvements on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels as well as other lipid parameters in healthy volunteers.

Professor John Kastelein, Chief Scientific Officer and founder of Dezima, commented, "I am very pleased that the TULIP study has kicked off with this very promising new compound for patients with dyslipidemia. If successful, this trial will pave the way for larger scale Phase 3 pivotal clinical trials."

"The start of the TULIP study is an exciting milestone for Dezima Pharma," Rob de Ree, CEO of Dezima added. "Being the most potent CETP inhibitor in clinical development with excellent safety, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties we firmly believe that our compound can further improve the outcome for patients suffering from cardiovascular disease due to dyslipidemia."