Neuren presents phase 2 clinical trial strategy for NNZ-2566

Neuren Pharmaceuticals has announced that Mr Larry Glass, Executive Vice President and head of Neuren’s US operations, has been invited by the US Army to present Neuren’s clinical trial strategy for NNZ-2566 at the Advanced Technology Applications for Combat Casualty Care (ATACCC) conference.

The ATACCC is the US Department of Defense’s premier scientific meeting that addresses critical advances in trauma medicine. The conference is attended by senior scientists and physicians who represent the military’s leadership in trauma medicine.

Mr Glass will detail for the first time the clinical trial design of the upcoming Phase 2 trials for traumatic brain injury (TBI) - one in severely brain injured patients and one in those with mild to moderate injuries – scheduled for commencement in 2007. The trials are being developed in collaboration with the US Army Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and leading civilian experts in brain injury, including leading researchers from UCLA and the University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute.

Neuren believes that both severe and mild to moderate TBI programs are eligible for Fast Track designation due to the lack of effective treatments on market and seriousness of the indication. NNZ-2566 for severe TBI may also qualify for designation as an Orphan Drug under the US Orphan Drug Act which provides sponsors with tax credits, marketing incentives and possible access to government grants.

Dr Frank Tortella, Chief of the Department of Applied Neurobiology at the WRAIR and Research Director for the Combat Casualty Care Research Program in Brain Trauma and Neuroprotection, will also be presenting a comprehensive update of WRAIR’s research on NNZ-2566 in preclinical models at the conference. This research continues to show promising results of the drug’s ability to improve functional recovery and reduce brain wave abnormalities and neurological damage following injury.

Neuren’s NNZ-2566 TBI development program has also been selected as one of the 10 most interesting neuroscience projects and will be presented at the Therapeutic Alliances in Neurosciences meeting in October following the prestigious Society of Neuroscience meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. At the Society of Neuroscience meeting, WRAIR scientists will also be reporting additional results from preclinical studies.