Health and Fitness.---Diabetes drng.

Piramal starts phase-II clinical trials of diabetes drug

Press Trust of India / New Delhi September 20, 2010, 15:24 IST

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New Delhi: Piramal Life Sciences today said it has started phase-II clinical trials of a molecule, aimed at treating diabetes, in Europe and India. The company today initiated the phase-II study of 'P1736-05', an insulin sensitising compound, which is being developed for the treatment of type-2 diabetes, in India and Europe, Piramal Life Sciences said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).


The commencement of phase-II trial of P1736-05 in India and Europe speaks of our efforts to build a diversified and strong pipeline of products to address unmet medical needs," Piramal Life Sciences Managing Director Somesh Sharma said. He further added: "P1736-05 is likely to provide a safe and effective therapeutic option to type-2 diabetic patients."

Phase-II clinical trials are tests conducted on a small select sample of human patients after passing the Phase-I, which is done on a smaller sample. While, the company has been granted an approval by Indian regulatory authorities, in Europe various EU regulatory authorities like CCMO of Netherlands and NIP of Hungary have granted an approval for conducting the trials, it added. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Type-2 Diabetes Melitus is an emerging worldwide health crisis with an incidence rate of 300 million by 2025.


Type-2 Diabetes Melitus or non-insulin dependent diabetes accounts for about 95 per cent of the diabetic population. Shares of Piramal Life Sciences were trading at Rs 191.40 in late afternoon trade on the BSE, up 4.99 per cent from its previous close.
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