TLC Announces Topline Results for TLC590 Phase II Trial for Postsurgical Pain Management following Bunionectomy

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA and TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TLC (Nasdaq: TLC, TWO: 4152), a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company developing novel nanomedicines to target areas of unmet medical need in pain management, ophthalmology and oncology, today announced topline results from the TLC590 Phase II clinical trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo- and comparator- controlled study of TLC590 in patients following bunionectomy. Results show that TLC590 demonstrated greater reductions in pain than both placebo and bupivacaine through 168 hours.

TLC590 is a non-opioid, proprietary BioSeizer sustained release formulation of ropivacaine. The trial compared TLC590 (228mg) with normal saline placebo and the current standard of care for postsurgical pain relief, bupivacaine (50mg), in 150 patients randomized at the ratio of 1:1:1. The primary outcome measure was comparison of pain relief between TLC590, placebo, and bupivacaine in area under the curve (AUC) on the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS).

Key findings from the trial are as follows:

• The overall reduction in pain intensity provided by TLC590 was greater than that of placebo as well as bupivacaine at every time interval from 0 hours through the end of the study at 168 hours.
• TLC590 achieved statistically significant pain relief over both placebo (p<0.001) and bupivacaine (p=0.0188) from 0 to 24 hours. The differences in AUC_0-72 did not reach statistical significance.
• TLC590 delayed the median time to first post-operative opioid use, and the total post-operative opioid consumption of TLC590 was less than both placebo and bupivacaine at every time point through 168 hours.
• TLC590 was well-tolerated, with a safety profile comparable to bupivacaine and placebo. Most adverse events were mild and unrelated to the treatment. There were no serious adverse events in the TLC590 group.  

“We continue to be excited about TLC590 as we observed a promising trend in this small patient population, similar to what we saw in our Phase I/II clinical trial in patients following hernia repair surgery, and we believe that in an expanded patient population, this drug will demonstrate significant clinical benefits beyond 24 hours in our upcoming pivotal trials,” said TLC President George Yeh. “We will continue to analyze the data and work closely with regulatory bodies to efficiently bring TLC590 to market. TLC is committed to presenting a fast onset, long-lasting, single-dose non-opioid treatment that can potentially reduce the need for opioids while helping patients cope with the pain experienced after surgery.”