Orexo : clinical phase II program for OX914 - a new product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases

September 2, 2008 - Orexo AB (OMX: ORX), the Swedish pharmaceutical company, announced that the phase II program for the product OX914 has started. This is a new product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases including asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and rhinitis.

OX914 is a so called PDE4 inhibitor with an improved safety profile in development for the treatment of asthma, COPD and rhinitis.

The patients will be treated with OX914 in a disease model for inflammatory airway disease. Thirty six patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis will be given placebo or OX914 in doses of 15 or 50 mg for two weeks in a double blind 3-way cross-over study. Effects on nasal symptoms, inflammatory response, as well as safety and tolerability will be documented... Orexo's Press Release -

Orexo, eoxins, new mechanism for asthma and COPD treatment

2008-01-10 - The discovery of the eoxins and their characteristics has paved the way for a new class of pharmaceuticals for treatment of asthma and COPD. One of the world’s most-cited scientific journals, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS), is now publishing Orexo´s research on the initial discovery and biological functions of eoxins. The publication describes the scientific rationale behind Orexo´s drug development program on eoxin inhibitors.Eoxins constitute a new group of inflammatory mediators, which adds to understanding the mechanisms for airway inflammation. Eoxins are pro-duced from the endogenous fatty acid arachidonic acid, via the initial action of the enzyme 15-lipoxygenase. Inflammatory cells in the res-piratory tract are the main producers of eoxins, and the production is initiated by well known inflammatory mediators released in connection with allergy and asthma. These data, together with the powerful pro-inflammatory effects demonstrated for the eoxins, indicate an important role for eoxins in the inflammation seen in connection with asthma and COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease... Orexo´s Press Release -