KAI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Initiates Third Phase 2a Study in Program to Develop KAI-1678 for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KAI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held drug discovery and development company, today announced the Company has initiated a third Phase 2a study of KAI-1678, a first-in-class, isozyme-selective, small peptide inhibitor of the epsilon protein kinase C pathway (epsilon PKC). The study has begun enrollment of patients for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). In December 2008, KAI announced the initiation of its first Phase 2a study of KAI-1678 in patients with moderate-to-severe postoperative pain following total hip or total knee replacement. A second Phase 2a trial in patients with chronic postherpetic neuralgia was initiated last month.