Santhera to Test Compound in CMD

Santhera Pharmaceuticals of Liestal, Switzerland, announced in July that it will pursue development of omigapil, also known as SNT317, for congenital muscular dystrophies (CMD).

The company purchased the rights to develop the drug from Novartis, a multinational pharmaceutical firm that had hoped to develop omigapil for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), after laboratory experiments showed it helped prevent cell death.

Novartis abandoned the ALS-related plan in 2005 after omigapil failed to show any benefit in that disease. (Novartis’ name for the compound was TCH346.)

In a press release, Santhera Chief Scientific Officer Thomas Meier said, “CMD refers to a group of genetically determined devastating neuromuscular diseases which frequently affect infants or newborn babies.

"Our preclinical research to date has shown that omigapil could reduce the progressive loss of muscle tissue, weight loss, skeletal deformations and early mortality in a disease-relevant model. Based on these data, we believe omigapil is a potential therapeutic option for CMD. Together with internationally leading clinical experts, we are currently defining the details of the clinical development plan."

The company expects to start a trial before the end of 2008.