Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Epix Pharma’s pulmonary hypertension treatment in Phase 2 study

By Mass High Tech Staff

Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. has begun a Phase 2b right-heart catheterization study of its PRX-08066 treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH).

No drugs are approved for treating PH currently, according to Epix interim CEO Elkan Gamzu, though he said the disease affects about six million people globally.

PRX-08066 is a type 2B receptor antagonist designed to lower blood pressure in the pulmonary artery without impacting overall blood pressure in the body, according to company officials.

Earlier this month, Lexington-based Epix (Nasdaq: EPIX) reported that Kingsbridge, a London-based investment group, committed to a financing agreement to provide up to $50 million during the next three years through the purchase of newly issued shares of Epix common stock.

Other recent news includes a second Phase 2b clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s disease treatment in collaboration with British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Epix also reported milestone payments of $5.5 million through its drug-discovery deals with GSK.

Gamzu took over as interim CEO at Epix following the resignation of Michael Kauffman from the post and from his position as a member of the board of directors.

Epix, founded in 1988 as Metacorp Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapeutics through the use of a in silico drug discovery platform. The company reported a net loss of $62.8 million on revenue of $14.96 million in 2007.