Summary
Nitec Pharma, a Switzerland-based specialty pharma company focused on the development and commercialization of medicines to treat chronic inflammation and pain-related diseases, today announced positive results from the second pivotal phase III trial for its lead product, Lodotra.
Analysis
Rheumatoid arthritis affects millions of people these days, and has been a "problem child" with regards to long term and effective treatment.
The best-to-date treatment regimens involve what we call DMARD's -- Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs. A lot of the basis for this is steroid administration.
What the CAPRA family of studies have done is link the natural circadian rhythm of our own steroid cycle to effectively administer glucocorticoids in a timely manner.
Our cycle, as you may know or remember, involves higher levels of ACTH and subsequently cortisol in the waking hours of the night and early morning.....with peak cortisol levels somewhere between 6-8am--for most people--under normal stress.
The theory behind this circadian timing is that a lower dose but more effective glucocorticoid can be administered if it is timed optimally based on our own daily cyclic rhythm. Lower dose steroids (systemic) will have less side effects throughout the rest of the body, and thus may be administered for longer period of time (years) and tolerated better (in theory).
These are definitely positive and promising results.
This author consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
