Poxel SA announced the initiation of the TIMES 2 and TIMES 3 trials for the Phase 3 program for Imeglimin, an investigational therapeutic agent for type 2 diabetes, in Japan.
“Over the last few months, we have made significant progress advancing the TIMES program for Imeglimin in Japan with the initiation of all three pivotal Phase 3 trials. We are on track for the Phase 3 data readout in 2019,” said Thomas Kuhn, CEO of Poxel. “Our near-term focus in Japan is the successful execution of TIMES, and to this end, we are working closely with our colleagues at Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma to support the Japanese New Drug Application submission anticipated in 2020.”
The TIMES program is a joint development effort between Poxel and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. The companies announced on October 30, 2017, a strategic partnership for the development and commercialization of Imeglimin in Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and nine other Southeast Asian countries.2 Through this partnership, the TIMES 1 trial in Japan was initiated in December 2017.
Imeglimin is an orally-available drug candidate with a novel mechanism of action that has been observed in clinical studies to demonstrate glucose lowering benefits by simultaneously targeting all three key organs which play an important role in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: the liver, muscles and the pancreas. Imeglimin has demonstrated in preclinical studies the potential to address mitochondrial dysfunction, which is believed to be at the core of type 2 diabetes pathophysiology. Imeglimin has completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 development in over 1,200 subjects in the U.S., EU and Japan.
About the TIMES Program
TIMES (Trials of Imeglimin for Efficacy and Safety), the Phase 3 program for Imeglimin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Japan, consists of three pivotal trials involving approximately 1,100 patients. The TIMES program includes the following three trials that will be performed using the dose of 1,000 mg twice daily:
TIMES 1: A Phase 3, 24-week, double-blind placebo-controlled, randomized, monotherapy study to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Imeglimin in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes, using the change in HbA1c as the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints of the trial will include other standard glycemic and non-glycemic parameters.
TIMES 2: A Phase 3, 52-week, open-label, parallel-group study to assess the long-term safety and efficacy of Imeglimin in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes. In this study, Imeglimin will be administrated orally as a monotherapy or combination therapy with existing hypoglycemic agents, including a DPP4 inhibitor, SGLT2 inhibitor, biguanide, sulphonylurea and GLP1 receptor agonist.
TIMES 3: A Phase 3, 16-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study with a 36-week open-label extension period to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Imeglimin in combination with insulin in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes and inadequate glycemic control on insulin therapy.
About Imeglimin
Imeglimin is the first clinical candidate in a new chemical class of oral agents called Glimins by the World Health Organization. Imeglimin has a unique mechanism of action (“MOA”) that targets mitochondrial bioenergetics. Imeglimin acts on all three key organs which play an important role in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: the liver, muscles and the pancreas, and it has demonstrated glucose lowering benefits by increasing insulin secretion in response to glucose, improving insulin sensitivity and suppressing gluconeogenesis. This MOA has the potential to prevent endothelial and diastolic dysfunction, which can provide protective effects on micro- and macro-vascular defects induced by diabetes. It also has the potential for protective effect on beta-cell survival and function. This unique MOA offers the potential opportunity for Imeglimin to be a candidate for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in almost all stages of the current anti-diabetic treatment paradigm, including monotherapy or as an add-on to other glucose lowering therapies.
