Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced that the first patients have been dosed in the company's phase IIIb trial of Xiaflex for the treatment of adult Dupuytren's contracture patients with multiple palpable cords. The study is expected to enroll approximately 60 patients at eight sites throughout the US and Australia and patients will be monitored for 60 days following their last injection. It is estimated by SDI Health, LLC that up to 40 per cent of annual Dupuytren's surgeries are performed to treat two or more cords concurrently.

"We are extremely pleased to initiate this important post-approval study as we believe the results could provide those physicians that treat Dupuytren's additional important safety information about treating multiple joints in the same hand concurrently," said Dr. James Tursi, chief medical officer of Auxilium. "We anticipate having the results of this trial in the second half of 2012."

The phase IIIb study is an open-label study that is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of concurrent administration of two injections of Xiaflex into the same hand of subjects with at least two Dupuytren's contractures caused by palpable cords. Safety assessments, including immunogenicity testing, will be made during all study visits. Efficacy assessments will include measuring finger goniometry and range of motion of the treated joints on days 1, 8, 30, and 60, following the first cycle of two injections. Upon completion of the day 60 follow-up visit following the first treatment cycle, subjects who require additional treatment in the treated hand may receive Xiaflex in other individual cords, up to a total of five total injections.

Dupuytren's contracture is a chronic condition that affects the connective tissue that lies beneath the skin in the palm. The disease is progressive in nature. Typically, skin pits then nodules develop in the palm as collagen deposits accumulate. As the disease progresses, the collagen deposits form a cord that stretches from the palm of the hand to the base of the finger. Once this cord develops, the patient's fingers contract and the function of the hand is impaired. The incidence of Dupuytren's disease, inclusive of pits, nodules and cords, is highest in Caucasians, historically those of Northern European descent, with a global prevalence of three to six percent of the Caucasian population. Most cases of Dupuytren's contracture occur in patients older than 50 years.

The most frequently affected parts of the hand associated with Dupuytren's contracture are the joints called the Metacarpal Phalangeal Joint, or MP joint, which is the joint closest to the palm of the hand and the Proximal Intra-Phalangeal Joint, or the PIP joint, which is the middle joint in the finger. The little finger and ring finger are most frequently involved. Xiaflex is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of Dupuytren's contracture, which has historically been treated primarily by an open surgical procedure.

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty biopharmaceutical company with a focus on developing and marketing products to predominantly specialist audiences, such as urologists, endocrinologists, certain targeted primary care physicians, hand surgeons, subsets of orthopaedic, general, and plastic surgeons who focus on the hand, and rheumatologists.