Lexicon Files IND Application for LX2931

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the FDA for LX2931, an oral drug candidate for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions.

The initial Phase I trial of LX2931 will be double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, ascending single-dose study in healthy volunteers to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of LX2931.  Lexicon said it expects to initiate trials with LX2931 following FDA review.

LX2931 was developed by Lexicon as an inhibitor of a key enzyme in the sphingolipid pathway, which controls lymphocyte circulation and trafficking to peripheral sites in the body during an inflammatory response.