BOSTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc on Monday said preliminary data from a small trial of its experimental cystic fibrosis drug showed it was safe and improved lung function.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said that based on data from the trial of 19 cystic fibrosis patients with the G551D mutation who received either the Vertex drug, VX-770 or a placebo, the company will be working with regulators to finalize the design of the next trials.
The drug targets the underlying defect that causes the fatal disease, in which inadequate function of a key protein results in an imbalance of fluid and salt in the airways.
The group of patients with the genetic mutation targeted by the drug account for about 5 percent of patients with the disease, the trial's lead researcher earlier in the year.
(Reporting by Toni Clarke, editing by Maureen Bavdek) Keywords: VERTEX/ Toni Clarke vj COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said that based on data from the trial of 19 cystic fibrosis patients with the G551D mutation who received either the Vertex drug, VX-770 or a placebo, the company will be working with regulators to finalize the design of the next trials.
The drug targets the underlying defect that causes the fatal disease, in which inadequate function of a key protein results in an imbalance of fluid and salt in the airways.
The group of patients with the genetic mutation targeted by the drug account for about 5 percent of patients with the disease, the trial's lead researcher earlier in the year.
(Reporting by Toni Clarke, editing by Maureen Bavdek) Keywords: VERTEX/ Toni Clarke vj COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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