NEUROCRINE ANNOUNCES POSITIVE PHASE II RESULTS FOR CHF TREATMENT

Neurocrine Biosciences has announced positive safety and efficacy results from a Phase IIa clinical trial with two dose levels of urocortin 2 in patients with mild-to-moderate congestive heart failure (CHF).

Results demonstrated a dose-related increase in cardiac output of up to 40 percent with only a modest increase in heart rate. In addition, seven of eight patients exhibited improvement in cardiac ejection fraction. Patients exhibited mild-to-moderate reductions in both diastolic and systolic blood pressure without adverse effects. Preliminary analysis showed a correlation between pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters. The drug was safe and well-tolerated, and there were no serious adverse events reported.