Neurogen announces start of phase 1 clinical trial for pain drug NGD-8243

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., Feb. 16 - Neurogen Corp. announced Thursday that Merck & Co., Inc. began phase 1 clinical trials of NGD-8243, a drug candidate for treating pain, and one of several drug candidates being developed as the result of the companies' exclusive worldwide alliance to develop oral therapeutics targeting the VR1 receptor.

The phase 1 clinical trial will be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of the safety and pharmacokinetics of single ascending oral doses of NGD-8243 in healthy volunteers. The beginning of the phase 1 study, to be held in Europe, triggers a milestone payment of $2 million from Merck to Neurogen.

"We are very pleased to enter human testing with NGD-8243, and excited by the progress made through this alliance. Drawing on the respective strengths of Neurogen and Merck, we've been able to make important contributions to the field of VR1 research and have struck a rich vein of chemical matter, from which we are bringing multiple candidates forward," said William H. Koster, PhD, Neurogen president and chief executive officer, in a company release.

"Drugs acting on this target have the potential to not only alleviate pain, particularly arising from inflammatory states, but also to treat urinary incontinence and upper airway disease making this a particularly exciting area of new drug discovery."

Also known as the type 1 vanilloid receptor, VR1 is a key integrator of pain signals in the nervous system, according to a company news release.

Based in Branford, Conn., Neurogen is a drug discovery and development company focusing on small molecule drugs to improve the lives of patients suffering from insomnia, pain, depression, obesity and inflammation.

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