SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZGEN - News), today announced that its partner Merck Serono has received agreement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for a Phase 2/3 trial with atacicept in patients with general systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Together with a previously announced agreement from the FDA for a Phase 2/3 study in lupus nephritis, which was initiated in December 2007, these studies are intended to support an application for marketing authorization in the U.S. for the treatment of patients with SLE.
