The phase I study is designed to investigate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of ADL5859 in healthy volunteers following twice a day dosing for seven days.
This study follows the recent completion of a single dose phase I study that demonstrated that the compound was well absorbed following oral administration and was generally well tolerated. Completion of the multi-dose study is targeted for the third quarter of this year.
“We are excited about the potential role of our Delta compounds in pain management as well as in other therapeutic indications and are fortunate to be at the forefront of this area of research.” said James Barrett, senior vice president of Adolor Corporation.
Adolor believes Delta compounds may have a number of potential advantages, including an improved side effect profile, as compared to mu opioid receptor agonists. On the basis of preclinical evaluation in animal models of human conditions, one might expect a Delta agonist to show effect in inflammatory pain, among other pain conditions.
In addition, Delta agonists are thought to modulate other biological processes that may manifest themselves in disease states or conditions such as overactive bladder and depression.