Kemia initiates trial of oral anti-inflammatory

KC706 is a novel anti-inflammatory drug that works by inhibiting the activity of p38 MAP kinase.

Kemia predicts the drug may be useful for treating inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and cardiovascular disease. The company plans to conduct phase IIa trials during 2006 to measure the efficacy of KC706 in the treatment of selected inflammatory diseases.

Results from the phase I clinical safety trials are expected by the end of 2005.

Kinases are key regulatory proteins in important biological pathways such as inflammation. Kemia’s chemistries represent a ‘next generation’ approach, in contrast to the majority of earlier generation kinase inhibitors that directly compete for ATP binding. Kemia believes that allosteric inhibitors offer improved selectivity compared to first generation ATP competitive compounds and thus reduce the risk of side effects from off-target interactions.