Helixmith said Thursday the first enrolled patient has received its new gene therapy, Engensis (VM202), in phase 3-2 study of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).

The company plans to continue administering the drug to other participants, as it is screening many additional patients at five clinical trial centers. It is conducting DPN phase 3-2 trials, REGAIN-1A, at 15 clinical centers with 152 enrolled patients in the U.S.

Helixmith aims to meet two endpoints in the study.

The trial's primary efficacy endpoint is to compare changes in average daily pain scores between VM202 and placebo. The secondary endpoint is to reduce pain by 50 percent or more.

DPN is one of the most common complications of diabetes as 30 million U.S. adults have the disorder. Around 28.5 percent of diabetic patients develop DPN, and up to half of them may advance to painful DPN (PDPN).

Dr. Miguel Trevino, head of clinical trials at Innovative Research in which the first patient received VM202, noted that the existing treatments for DPN only relieve pain and show various adverse events with limited efficacy, inevitably leaving half of the patients in painful life.

"The delay of this phase 3 study was due to the preparation of clinical operation system and examining numerous items during the patient's screening process," Helixmith CEO Kim Sun-young said. "Our latest study will add considerable knowledge and evidence to support the optimal use of VM202 in patients needing therapeutic options."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognized the scientific and clinical results of VM202 and designated it as RMAT (regenerative medicine advanced therapy) in 2018.

Read this article:
Helixmith injects DPN therapy into 1st patient of P3 study - Korea Biomedical Review

Comments are closed.