BAYER AND NUVELO BEGIN TRIAL ALFIMEPRASE

Bayer HealthCare and Nuvelo have begun patient enrollment in a second pivotal Phase III clinical trial of their lead product candidate, alfimeprase, for the treatment of central venous catheter occlusion (CO). Alfimeprase is a novel thrombolytic or blood clot dissolver.

The trial, known as SONOMA-3 (Speedy Opening of Non-functional and Occluded catheters with Mini-dose Alfimeprase-3), is the second of two overlapping, multinational trials in the Phase III alfimeprase program for CO. This open-label, single-arm trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of 3 mg of alfimeprase in 800 patients with occluded central venous catheters.