Business
BELLUS Health reports results for second quarter ended June 30, 2011
Patient recruitment progressing for KIACTA ™ Confirmatory Phase III Clinical ...
About this update from Bluenergies Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\nPatient recruitment progressing for KIACTA™ Confirmatory Phase III Clinical Trial\n\n\nLAVAL, QC, Aug. 10, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX: BLU)\n (\"BELLUS Health\" or the \"Company\") reported today its financial results\n for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011.\n\n\n\"Over the past several quarters, we have increasingly focused our\n business model on our most promising products while reducing our burn\n rate significantly,\" said Roberto Bellini, President and Chief\n Executive Officer of BELLUS Health. \"We made significant progress on\n several fronts during the quarter. Patient recruitment for our lead\n drug candidate KIACTA™ is progressing well and should be completed in\n mid-2012. We also continued to expand the distribution footprint in\n overseas markets for VIVIMIND™.\"\n\n\nOperating Highlights\n\n\nDuring the quarter, BELLUS Health and its strategic partner Celtic\n Therapeutics (\"Celtic\") continued recruitment for the global\n confirmatory phase III clinical trial for KIACTA™. The trial is\n designed to confirm the safety and efficacy of KIACTA™ in preventing\n renal function decline in patients diagnosed with AA amyloidosis. It\n will involve approximately 230 patients enrolled from approximately 72\n sites in 30 countries. Patient recruitment is estimated to be completed\n in mid-2012. The confirmatory phase III clinical trial is the last key\n step before applications for regulatory approval for KIACTA™ can be\n filed. It is currently estimated that the trial will be completed in\n 2014.\n\nAs previously announced, the Company recently signed licensing\n agreements for the marketing and distribution of VIVIMIND™ in Italy,\n Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and certain other Gulf States in the\n Middle East.\n\nThe Company is currently seeking a potential partnership to pursue the\n development process of NRM8499, a prodrug of tramiprosate, for which a\n phase I clinical trial was completed in January 2011. Results of the\n trial showed a potential for pursuing NRM8499 for the treatment of\n Alzheimer's disease and demonstrated that NRM8499 was safe and well\n tolerated at the intended therapeutic dose.\n\nSince the second quarter of 2010, the Company has been implementing\n cost-reduction initiatives to reduce its fixed-cost base and ...