The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Crohn's Disease treatment ZP1848 to be administered in humans.

Biopharmaceutical company Zealand Pharma had issued a New Drug application to the FDA and will now advance the Glucagon-Like Peptide-2 (GLP-2) into phase I clinical trials.

The study, which will be double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomised, involves an ascending subcutaneous single dose being given to healthy volunteers. Multiple doses will then be given to Crohn's Disease patients.

GLP-2 has already been shown to increase animal survival in different types of gut injury, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Dr David Solomon, Zealand Pharma's president and chief executive officer, said the advancement of ZP1848 "further strengthens" the company's ongoing developments.

"The inadequacies of the current treatment options in Crohn's Disease coupled with the rise in the incidence of IBD in the industrialized world highlights the need for more efficacious therapeutic approaches for the treatment of IBD," he said.

Crohn's Disease is most common in the ileum, although it can affect any part of the digestive tract, including the mouth, oesophagus and stomach.

Register now to access our FREE educational library

• Drug can save lives of ICH patients 20/02/09
• Drug could be used to treat Alzheimer's 19/02/09
• First patient treated with GDC-0449 during clinical trial 18/02/09
• Ondansetron can prevent opioid withdrawal symptoms 18/02/09

• GLUCOBAY - 41.89%
  ... HbA1, HbA1c). The changes may be a reduction or reduced deterioration in HbA1 or HbA1c levels, depending upon the patient's clinical status and disease progression. These parameters are affected in a dose-dependent manner by Glucobay. Following oral administration, only 1-2% of the active inhibitor ...
  
  
• TRITACE Tablets - 37.31%
  ... revascularisation procedures in patients of 55 years or more who have clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease (previous MI, unstable angina or multivessel CABG or multivessel PTCA), stroke or peripheral vascular disease. Also for reducing the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, cardiovascular ...
  
  
• TRITACE Titration Pack - 37.13%
  ... revascularisation procedures in patients of 55 years or more who have clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease (previous MI, unstable angina or multivessel CABG or multivessel PTCA), stroke or peripheral vascular disease. Also for reducing the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, cardiovascular ...
  
  
• ZYLORIC - 36.47%
  ... clinical risk (e.g. treatment of malignancy potentially leading to acute uric acid nephropathy). The main clinical conditions where urate/uric acid deposition may occur are: idiopathic gout; uric acid lithiasis; acute uric acid nephropathy; neoplastic disease and myeloproliferative disease with high ...
  
  
• ZAPAIN - 36.21%
  ... with:   manifest atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease (history of coronary heart disease or stroke, or peripheral vascular disease) or  diabetes with at least one cardiovascular risk factor. - Treatment of renal disease: Incipient glomerular diabetic nephropathy as defined by the ...
  
  
• NAGLAZYME Solution for Infusion - 35.67%
  ... to initiate treatment as early as possible, before appearance of non-reversible clinical manifestations of the disease. A key issue is to treat young patients aged <5 years suffering from a severe form of the disease, even though patients <5 years were not included in the pivotal phase 3 study ...