Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) announced today the initiation of dosing in a Phase 1 clinical trial of APD334, a novel oral drug candidate that targets the sphingosine 1-phosphate subtype 1 (S1P1) receptor for the potential treatment of autoimmune diseases.
This randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled Phase 1 trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single-ascending doses of APD334 in up to 64 healthy adult volunteers.
"We are pleased to expand our clinical-stage pipeline by initiating a Phase 1 trial of APD334, and look forward to advancing this novel compound through our validated development platform," said William R. Shanahan , M.D., Arena's Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. "APD334's selectivity for the S1P1 receptor has the potential to improve upon the adverse event profile of currently available treatments for a spectrum of autoimmune diseases."
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