RXi Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Results in its First Double Blind Study in Healthy Volunteers with RXI-109
Category: DNA RNA and Cells| Published on Thursday, 06 June 2013 13:12 RXI-109 was well tolerated and produced a statistically significant and dose dependent reduction of Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF), a protein that causes abnormal scarring when it is over-expressed in a wound
WESTBOROUGH, MA, USA I June 6, 2013 I RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (RXII), a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using RNA-targeted technologies, today announced the unblinded results of the first of their 2 placebo-controlled double blind studies in volunteers with their anti-scarring agent RXI-109, a proprietary sd-rxRNA® compound that has been shown in vitro and in animals to reduce mRNA for connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). Over-expression of this protein in wounds has been associated with abnormal scarring as seen in hypertrophic scars and keloids.
"Based on the animal data, we were confident that RXI-109 would not cause significant side effects or toxicities in this first study, and we are pleased to announce that confirmation today," said Dr. Geert Cauwenbergh, President and CEO of RXi Pharmaceuticals. He added that: "It is remarkable and a great outcome that we have also been able to get a good read-out on a key biomarker for scarring in this study. Indeed, almost 3 months after a single intradermal dose of RXI-109, histological comparisons between the drug- and placebo-treated sites in the volunteers showed that RXI-109 significantly reduced the expression of CTGF in the wound area in a dose dependent manner, suggesting a potent and long lasting effect on this key biomarker for abnormal scarring. We look forward to having the unblinded results of our second Phase 1 trial, with multiple doses of RXI-109, available for our Investor and Analyst Symposium on July 12, 2013."
