ActivX Biosciences, US subsidiary of Tokyo-based Kyorin Pharmaceutical, has filed an investigational new drug application with the FDA for KRP-104, a compound for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
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In May 2002, ActivX and Kyorin entered into a collaboration for the discovery and development of new drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The companies’ joint research quickly led to the identification of KRP-104 for clinical development.
In December 2004, Kyorin acquired ActivX, and the La Jolla-based company now acts as Kyorin’s US center for drug discovery and clinical development.
KRP-104 is an orally active, dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPPIV) inhibitor which lowers blood glucose levels by blocking the degradation of the hormone GLP-1 thereby stimulating glucose-dependent insulin secretion and lowering blood glucose levels without hypoglycemic effects.
“KRP-104 is entering a highly competitive area of clinical development with a number of compounds in advanced clinical stages. We believe, however, that KRP-104 has a unique pharmacological profile that will more than compensate for its later market entry,” said Dr John Kozarich, chairman & president of ActivX and chief scientific advisor for Kyorin.
This is Kyorin’s first independently filed application with the FDA. The US phase I clinical trial of KRP-104 commenced on March 3, 2006.