HONOLULU, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Microbia, Inc. today announced the final results from an initial Phase 1 trial of MD-1100 in healthy volunteers, which demonstrated the agent was well tolerated. In healthy volunteers, MD-1100 also elicited alterations in intestinal transit that would be expected to alleviate symptoms of constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). The study is being presented at the 70th annual scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.(1) This is the first presentation in a public forum of MD-1100 Phase 1 data.
“There is a critical need for new drugs that address the often agonizing pain and altered bowel function that are the hallmarks of IBS-C,” said Mark Currie, vice president of research and development at Microbia. “These Phase 1 findings show MD-1100 is a potentially promising therapy, and support moving forward with later-stage clinical trials.”
Designed by the Microbia drug discovery team, MD-1100 is an orally delivered compound that has been shown in preclinical testing to promote gastrointestinal transit and secretion and to alleviate gastrointestinal pain. In addition, MD-1100 was designed to specifically target the intestine-the site of illness-without more general systemic exposure, which may result in safety advantages for patients. A peptide made up of 14 amino acids, MD-1100 works by acting on guanylate cyclase-C, a receptor found on the surface of intestinal cells.
“We are very encouraged by these findings and plan to move forward with aggressive clinical development of MD-1100, with the goal of addressing the significant unmet medical need of patients suffering from IBS,” said Peter Hecht, chief executive officer at Microbia.
(1) Mark G. Currie, Ph.D., Effects of Single Dose Administration of MD- 1100 on Safety, Tolerability, Exposure, and Stool Consistency in Healthy Subjects; Poster 832 presented at: annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, Honolulu, Hawaii, October 30- November 2, 2005. About Irritable Bowel Syndrome
One out of six adults in developed countries suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic condition marked by abdominal pain and disturbed bowel function. IBS accounts for 12% of adult visits to primary care physicians and is the most common disorder diagnosed by gastroenterologists. Health care costs associated with IBS exceed $25 billion annually. Of the three IBS subgroups-constipation-predominant (IBS-C), diarrhea-predominant (IBS-D), and alternating (IBS-A)-30% to 40% of patients suffer from IBS-C. There are currently few available therapies to treat the symptoms of IBS.
ABOUT MICROBIA
Microbia (www.microbia.com) is an entrepreneurial pharmaceutical company dedicated to the science and art of great drugmaking. Two of the Company’s drug candidates are in clinical studies-MD-1100 for the treatment of constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal disorders, and MD-0727 for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Our Precision Engineering(TM) business unit collaborates with leading pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers to improve efficiencies of existing fermentation processes or to create new bioprocesses. Microbia has raised $99 million in private equity financing and is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Corporate Inquiries: Media Inquiries: Susan Brady Kelly Lindenboom Microbia, Inc. Biosector2 617|621-8304 212|845-5622 sbrady@microbia.comklindenboom@biosector2.com
Microbia, Inc.
CONTACT: corporate, Susan Brady of Microbia, Inc., +1-617-621-8304,sbrady@microbia.com, or, media, Kelly Lindenboom of Biosector2,+1-212-845-5622, klindenboom@biosector2.com
Web site: http://www.microbia.com/
