AD04 reduced heavy drinking days among heavy drinking individuals with alcohol use disorder and a specific genetic profile, as identified by a companion diagnostic test (CDx)
GLEN ALLEN, Va., June 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADIL) (“Adial” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for the treatment and prevention of addiction and related disorders, announced the publication of previously disclosed results from its Phase 3 ONWARD study in a peer-reviewed article in the European Journal of Internal Medicine entitled, “Low-dose ondansetron: A candidate prospective precision medicine to treat alcohol use disorder endophenotypes.” The publication findings showed a significant difference in the monthly percentage of heavy drinking days between the Company’s lead asset, AD04 (low-dose ondansetron), and the placebo group among heavy drinking patients with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and specific genotypic variants.
Key findings include:
- AD04 significantly decreased the monthly percentage of heavy drinking days after 6 months of treatment among heavy drinking individuals with alcohol use disorder and a specific genetic profile, as determined via a CDx
- This genotypic profile is in the serotonin transporter and serotonin-AB receptor complex
- AD04′s adverse events (AEs) match those of the placebo
- Combining AD04 with psychosocial intervention may change favorably how AUD disease is perceived and increase the demand for treatment to many who not have otherwise considered it
“The findings highlighted in the publication underscore the promise of AD04, with incorporation of a CDx, as an important advancement in the field of precision medicine. This approach is critical as AUD can be caused by a variety of gene-environment interactions and does not manifest uniformly across all patients,” said Cary Claiborne, CEO of Adial. “We believe patients struggling with AUD stand to gain greater benefit from precision treatments to reduce alcohol consumption such as AD04, as opposed to a one size fits all approach. Recognizing the benefits of AD04 within this genetically and behaviorally defined patient population will allow Adial to continue developing a 21st-century-based approach to the treatment of this devastating disorder. AD04 offers a novel strategy to manage AUD by reducing the potential harm of AUD, while lowering the perceived stigma of personal failure associated with the disorder.”
The study examined the role of endophenotypes in predicting AD04’s efficacy for the treatment of AUD and found that specific genotypes affecting the serotonin transporter and serotonin-AB receptor complex are predictive of AD04’s ability to reduce the number of heavy drinking days among patients with AUD. In particular, the data revealed that individuals with specific genetic backgrounds and meeting the criteria to be defined as “heavy drinkers” (avg.