TORREYPINES RELEASES RESULTS OF SECOND PHASE I TRIAL OF NGX267

TorreyPines Therapeutics announced completion of its second Phase I study with NGX267 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. This study evaluated the safety of the drug in healthy elderly volunteers. In a previous Phase I study, NGX267, administered in single doses, was shown to be well-tolerated in healthy, younger adult males.

NGX267, a selective cholinergic muscarinic, or M1, receptor agonist, has demonstrated potential in providing both symptomatic improvement and disease modification in animal models of Alzheimer's disease.

This second Phase I study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose study that evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of NGX267 in healthy males and females between the ages of 65 and 80. The trial enrolled 26 volunteers at one center in the U.S. Clinical data showed that the drug was well-tolerated at single doses up to and including 15 mg and that evidence of cholinergic activation was detected at these doses.