Tranzyme Pharma, a leading biopharmaceutical company developing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) and metabolic diseases, will present in vivo data on its GI compounds.
The company's VP of Drug Discovery, Dr Graeme Fraser, will present results from preclinical proof-of-concept studies on two of the company's novel development candidates at the upcoming 2006 Digestive Disease Week to be held at Los Angeles, CA. The new data will be highlighted in two oral presentations to be given on Sunday, May 21.
In the first presentation entitled "Ghrelin Agonist Activity in a Rat Model of Postoperative Ileus and Opioid-Delayed Gastrointestinal Motility", Dr Fraser will discuss efficacy observed in rat models with the company's novel gastroprokinetic ghrelin agonist, TZP-101.
In this study, TZP-101 was shown to restore impaired gastric emptying and delayed small intestinal transit caused by abdominal surgery, morphine, and a combination of both surgery and morphine. The study was directed by Dr Beverly Greenwood-Van Meerveld, a leading GI investigator and director of the Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Tranzyme Pharma recently announced the completion of a phase I clinical trial of TZP-101. This product is in clinical development as a first-in-class therapy for the treatment of post-operative ileus and other GI motility disorders.
The second presentation entitled "Motilin Receptor Antagonism Attenuates Naturally Occuring MMCs and Reverses Motilin-Impaired Gastric Accommodation in Conscious Dogs" presents ground-breaking proof-of-concept data for the company's motilin antagonist program.
In this study, the compound was shown to delay, in a dose-dependent manner, the appearance of phase III contractions of the migrating motor complex (MMC) in fasted dogs and reduce postprandial contractions in fed dogs. The data confirm the hypothesis that motilin is an endocrine regulator of the MMC and further imply that motilin plays a role in the regulation of postprandial activity. These data suggest that motilin antagonism has therapeutic potential in the treatment of GI disorders characterized by hypermotility or absorptive disorders in the gut.
This study was conducted in collaboration with researchers at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development ( Beerse , Belgium ).
Tranzyme Pharma is developing its proprietary motilin antagonist, TZP-201, as a treatment for functional GI disorders such as diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia.
Dr Vipin K Garg, president and CEO of Tranzyme Pharma, said, "GI motility disorders are characterized by large, underserved markets with a few or poor performing therapies. In contrast to most current treatments under development, Tranzyme is focused on developing first-in-class products that act on targets directly involved in regulating GI motility."
Tranzyme is a clinical-stage company developing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) and metabolic diseases. The company's candidate drugs originate from its own discovery pipeline of proprietary compounds with potency and selectivity for validated and druggable targets. Tranzyme is developing first-in-class, mechanism-based therapeutics for post-operative ileus (POI), gastroparesis, obesity, diabetes and functional GI disorders.