STOCKHOLM – September 11, 2012. Pergamum AB announced today that dosing has begun in a randomized Phase I/II trial of its drug candidate LL-37 for the treatment of patients with hard-to-heal venous leg ulcers. Karolinska Development AB is the majority owner of Pergamum.
“Non-healing wounds are a huge burden for the individual patient and for the health care system. Today, there are an estimated 15 million patients with chronic wounds globally, and virtually no medical progress has been made in this area over the last few decades”, said Jonas Ekblom, CEO of Pergamum AB. “This clinical trial will allow us to evaluate a promising new treatment, based on the body’s own immune defense, for patients with venous leg ulcers. The ultimate goal is to accomplish faster healing and improved quality of life for patients who typically have a poor prognosis.”
In this double blind multicenter study, patients with chronic leg ulcers will be randomized to receive either placebo treatment or one of three different doses of LL-37. The primary objective of the trial is to assess the safety and tolerability of Pergamum’s proprietary formulation of the therapeutic peptide LL-37. The Phase I/II study is expected to enroll 32 patients. The principal investigator is Dr. Ola Rollman, associate professor at the Department of Medicine at Uppsala University, Sweden.
“This is the third drug candidate developed by Pergamum to enter clinical development. It is primarily a safety study but we will also be able to see early signs of potential efficacy”, said Torbjörn Bjerke, CEO of Karolinska Development AB and Chairman of the Board of Pergamum.” The progress of LL-37 into human trials is yet another sign of our ability to bring our project portfolio to maturity.”
For further information, please contact:
Jonas Ekblom, President and CEO, Pergamum AB Phone: +46 (0)8 470 37 40,e-mail: jonas.ekblom@pergamum.com
Torbjörn Bjerke, CEO, Karolinska Development AB Phone: +46 (0)72 744 41 23, e-mail: torbjorn.bjerke@karolinskadevelopment.com
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