The trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of the oral treatment in 30 healthy adult male and female volunteers at one center. The drug is a prodrug of tezampanel, one of the company’s products in development for migraine.
TorreyPines commented that by focusing on both parenteral and oral therapies, it hoped it would be able to target more areas of the pain market.
NGX426 is an AK receptor that selectively blocks transmission of pain signals. Preclinical studies have shown that, following oral administration, the drug is rapidly converted to tezampanel.
In May 2006, TorreyPines reported results of a phase I trial with tezampanel that showed the compound was well tolerated when delivered beneath the skin to healthy adult males at single doses.
Five phase IIa studies have demonstrated that tezampanel, administered intravenously, was more effective than placebo in relieving pain symptoms across multiple pain models including migraine.
The company is planning to initiate a trial with tezampanel, administered subcutaneously, for the treatment of migraine this year.