Positive results announced for oral NK-1 receptor antagonist for chronic pruritus

Velocity Pharmaceutical Development and Tigercat Pharma have announced positive phase 2 study results for use of the investigational oral NK-1 receptor antagonist, VPD-737, for treating patients with severe chronic pruritus who did not respond to standard care.

Patients in the study were unresponsive to previous treatment with topical steroids and antihistamines, according to a press release. Both 1-mg and 5-mg VPD-737 (serlopitant) dosing groups met the study’s primary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in visual analog scale itch scores from baseline when compared with placebo.

Gil Yosipovitch

Study results showed there was a durable response during the entire treatment period with VPD-737, with treatment reported to be safe and well-tolerated, according to the release.

“The results of this study give tremendous hope for the millions of patients who suffer from this debilitating condition, which erodes their quality of life,” researcher, Gil Yosipovitch, MD, said in the release. “I look forward to further development of VPD-737 and hopefully adding it to the treatment armamentarium of patients suffering from intractable pruritus.”

Reference: www.tigercatpharma.com.