Clinical study with Biotie's BTT1023 in primary sclerosing cholangitis awarded external grant funding - Seite 2

About the Investigators

The University of Birmingham delivers excellence in liver research and has access to a large, well-defined, cohort of patients with PSC. Professor Adams at Birmingham developed the concept of PSC as a disease driven by aberrant lymphocyte homing and first reported a role for VAP-1 in the liver in mediating liver inflammation and fibrosis. Together with Dr Gideon Hirschfield he runs the PSC translational programme in Birmingham from where patients will be recruited for the trial.

About Primary sclerosing cholangitis

PSC is an orphan disease featuring chronic and progressive inflammation of the liver and is characterised by bile duct fibrosis and progression to cirrhosis. It most commonly affects men of working age and more than 50% of patients require liver transplantation within 10-15 years of symptomatic presentation. In the later stages of the disease patients feel severely unwell, with abdominal pain, itching, jaundice, poor appetite, deep fatigue and signs of malnourishment and eventually liver failure and death. There are no currently approved drugs to treat PSC and there is a high unmet medical need for new treatment options.

ABOUT BIOTIE

Biotie is a specialized drug development company focused on products for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. For the past years, Biotie has successfully operated a strategy built around search, profile and partner. This has delivered Selincro (nalmefene) for alcohol dependence, which received European marketing authorization in February 2013 and is currently being rolled out across Europe by partner H. Lundbeck A/S, and tozadenant, a novel A2a antagonist which is transitioning into Phase 3 development for Parkinson's disease and for which Biotie holds exclusive, global rights. Biotie is actively developing its pipeline assets, including SYN120, a unique potent 5-HT6/5-HT2a dual antagonist for which Biotie initially expects to conduct a Phase 2 study in Parkinson's disease dementia that is largely funded by the Michael J Fox Foundation; nepicastat, a selective inhibitor of dopamine beta hydroxylase which is currently in a Phase 2 study, fully funded by NIDA, for treatment seeking cocaine addicts; and BTT1023, a monoclonal antibody targeting Vascular Adhesion Protein 1 for which Biotie intends to conduct a Phase 2 study in primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare fibrotic disease of the liver. Biotie's shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.