Second Genome doses first patient in trial for NASH inflammation therapy

Second Genome announced the first patient dosing in a phase 2 clinical trial evaluating SGM-1019 for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, according to a press release.

SGM-1019 is an oral, small molecule inhibitor of P2X7, a receptor that is involved in inflammasome activation and mediates inflammation and fibrosis.

“There are no approved therapies for NASH at this time, and, while there are many in development, SGM-1019 is directed at the inflammation underlying this condition,” Stephen A. Harrison, MD, medical director of Pinnacle Clinical Research, San Antonio, and principal study investigator, said in the release. “We know that inhibiting P2X7 results in significant reduction in inflammation and fibrosis in preclinical models of disease and look forward to seeing the data from this study. SGM-1019 has the potential to provide a much-needed treatment option for the growing number of patients with NASH.”

Investigators of the phase 2a randomized control trial will enroll 100 patients with NASH from U.S. centers to evaluate preliminary safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of SGM-1019 as measured by alanine aminotransferase and magnetic resonance imaging.

“The advancement of SGM-1019 represents a significant milestone for the company, as it demonstrates our primary commitment to building a clinical-stage, diversified pipeline of small molecules, peptides, and proteins derived from our novel microbiome-based drug discovery platform,” Karim Dabbagh, president and CEO of Second Genome, said in the release. “In addition to continuing to advance SGM-1019, we also expect our earlier programs to deliver clinical candidate molecules and early leads in our core indications.”

Reference: www.secondgenome.com