Regeneron, Teva announce fasinumab yielded positive results in study of knee, hip OA

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced fasinumab yielded positive results in a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of patients with chronic pain from knee or hip osteoarthritis.

According to a press release, researchers compared two fasinumab treatment arms, which included either 1 mg of the drug every 4 weeks or 1 mg of the drug every 8 weeks, and a placebo group. At 16 weeks, both the co-primary endpoints and secondary endpoints were met at the primary efficacy analysis. Patients who were treated with fasinumab had significantly less pain and significantly improved functional ability from the baseline compared with the placebo-treated group.

“We are encouraged by these data and look forward to advancing our pivotal phase 3 fasinumab program in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip, who currently have limited therapeutic choices to treat their chronic pain, other than with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or opioids,” George D. Yancopoulos, MD, PhD, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron, said in the release.

According to the release, fasinumab was well-tolerated by most patients. It had similar adverse events to those seen in the previous fasinumab trials. At 16 weeks, treatment discontinuation due to adverse events were seen in 6% of the placebo group; in 5% of patients treated with 1 mg of fasinumab every 8 weeks; and in 6% of patients treated with 1 mg of fasinumab every 4 weeks.

Reference:

http://investor.regeneron.com/releaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1074989