PROGENICS REPORTS RESULTS FROM MNTX STUDY

Progenics Pharmaceuticals has announced positive top-line results from the second pivotal Phase III clinical trial of methylnaltrexone (MNTX) for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in patients with advanced medical illness. MNTX is a peripheral opioid receptor antagonist that is designed to treat the side-effects of opioids without interfering with pain relief.

In the study, subcutaneous administration of MNTX induced laxation (bowel movement) within four hours in 51.2 percent of severely constipated advanced-medical-illness patients at more than three times the rate of placebo, on average over a two-week period. For patients who responded to MNTX (0.15 mg/kg), median time to laxation was 30 minutes.