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news.Arena Pharmaceuticals has initiated dosing in a Phase I clinical trial of APD811, its novel drug candidate which targets the prostacyclin receptor for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
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The double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled Phase I will enroll up to 72 healthy adult volunteers and is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single-ascending doses of APD811.
Arena Pharma senior vice president and chief medical officer, William Shanahan said that an orally bioavailable prostacyclin receptor agonist could improve the standard of care for patients with PAH.
"APD811 is a non-prostanoid compound; in preclinical studies, the oral uptake, half life and efficacy characteristics suggest that it could offer improved administration over current prostacyclin receptor therapies," Shanahan added.
APD811 is a potent and selective agonist of the prostacyclin receptor, which regulates the vascular smooth muscle tone to improve mortality and exercise tolerance in PAH patients.