Icagen, Inc. provided an update on its sodium channel programme for pain and related disorders, which is being conducted in collaboration with Pfizer. As previously reported, the companies recently selected a candidate compound to advance into further clinical studies. Dosing of this candidate compound has now been initiated in a phase I study in healthy volunteers.

The safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and optimal formulation of the candidate compound will be assessed during a placebo controlled dose escalation in two cohorts of healthy volunteers; exploratory pharmacodynamic end points will be investigated in a third cohort of healthy volunteers.

P Kay Wagoner, CEO of Icagen, stated, "We are delighted that, in collaboration with Pfizer, we have now initiated Phase I clinical studies of our potent and subtype-selective Nav1.7 compound. This marks another important milestone in our development of subtype-selective sodium channel blockers, which we believe represent a promising approach for the treatment of pain and related disorders."

Pfizer will continue to fund all aspects of the collaboration, including all clinical studies and the continuing research and preclinical development efforts at Icagen on collaboration sodium channel targets. Pfizer has exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize products that result from the collaboration. Icagen is eligible to receive milestones and tiered royalties based upon product sales for each product under the collaboration.

Icagen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel orally-administered small molecule drugs that modulate ion channel targets.