Positive Phase IIa results fo

RNS Number : 5895L

e-Therapeutics plc

14 January 2009

 



Press Release

14 January 2009

e-Therapeutics plc

('e-Therapeutics' or 'the Company')

Positive Phase IIa clinical trial of antidepressant ETS6103 

e-Therapeutics plc (AIM: ETX), the drug discovery and development company, is pleased to report the positive results from a randomised controlled Phase IIa clinical trial of ETS6103, in patients with severe major depressive disorder. Patients in the control group were given amitryptiline, one of the most widely used tricyclic antidepressant treatments. 

Patients' depression scores were measured in each group before commencing either therapy and at fortnightly visits using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). 

ETS6103 significantly and consistently reduced depression scores in all patients during the 12-week treatment period. At the start of the trial, the modal depression score for ETS6103 patients was 23, which reflects severe depression. By visit three, the modal depression score for ETS6103 patients reduced to 4, and by visit six their modal depression score was zero, which reflects the absence of depressive symptoms.

There was statistically significant improvement in depression scores for patients taking ETS6103 between visit one and visit two (p<0.000005), between visit two and visit three (p<0.03), and between visits four and five (p<0.05). The improvement at the other successive visits tended to significance (3-4: p<0.07; 5-6 p=0.07), even though by these later visits patients' depression scores were already low. 

The onset of antidepressant activity was significantly faster for ETS6103 than for amitryptiline. The improvement between receiving the first dose and the first post-dosing visit was statistically significantly greater for patients taking ETS6103 than for those taking amitryptiline (p<0.05). 

Dr Royston Drucker, Chief Medical Officer of e-Therapeutics, said: 'We are delighted by these results. ETS6103 showed comparable efficacy to a tricyclic, but with faster onset, and a side-effect profile superior to that of any tricyclic or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. With further supportive clinical data, this could be the future treatment of choice for depression.'

Professor Malcolm Young, CEO of e-Therapeutics, commented: 'Sufficient clinical information is now available to proceed with several larger patient studies. We are especially interested in the therapeutic efficacy of ETS6103 in patients who do not respond to SSRI antidepressants, since approximately one third of all depressed patients do not benefit from these widely prescribed drugs. This further success from the Company's drug development activities provides further validation of e-Therapeutics' drug discovery strategy.' 

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For further information:
e-Therapeutics plc	www.etherapeutics.co.uk
Malcolm Young [e-mail]	[phone]
Nominated Advisor: WH Ireland
Katy Mitchell [e-mail]	[phone]
Media enquiries:
Abchurch	www.abchurch-group.com
Heather Salmond/Stephanie Cuthbert/Simone Alves  [e-mail]	[phone]

Notes to Editors

e-Therapeutics plc is a drug discovery and development company. It has developed proprietary computational systems to swiftly and accurately analyse and predict how medicines interact with cells in the body. This optimises the probability of identifying drug candidates with desirable efficacy and low toxicity. The Company applies its novel, systematic approach to three areas of activity: 

	discovery of new drugs;
	discovering novel uses for existing drugs; and
	analysis of the interactions between different drugs.

Amongst e-Therapeutics' pipeline of compounds in development are novel antibiotics that kill the 'superbug' MRSA, and a novel cancer chemotherapy that kills malignant cells at safe doses in a very short time. Other candidate therapies in development are targeted at atherosclerosis, asthma and depression. The Company is currently in negotiation with a number of pharmaceutical companies, and is progressing the preclinical and clinical development of these products. 

 

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