Momenta to begin clinical trial of anticoagulant this fall

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Eugene, Ore., Sept. 14 - Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. expects to begin a phase 1 clinical trial in the fall of M118, its novel anticoagulant designed to treat acute coronary syndromes, Richard Shea, chief financial officer of Momenta, said Thursday at the ThinkEquity growth conference.

M118 is a reversible anticoagulant with a profile similar to low molecular weight heparin. The company said it developed the drug candidate using its proprietary technology for detailed analysis and design of complex sugar therapeutics.

Momenta believes M118's advantage is that it is designed to be used by patients undergoing surgery as well as those being medically managed, Shea said.

"M118 could be used across the board. The doctor wouldn't have to guess whether the patient was going to be moving downstream into surgery. We think this is a large market, a terrific opportunity," he said.

Momenta also plans to use its technology to develop additional heparin drugs, possibly in oncology, Shea said.

"We think heparin products as a class have been underdeveloped or underutilized because they haven't been able to be fully characterized," he said.

Momenta's lead product candidate, M-Enoxaparin, is a technology enabled generic version of the low molecular weight heparin, Lovenox.

The company submitted an aNDA for M-Enoxaparin last August. The application remains under review.

Momenta is a Cambridge, Mass.-based biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs.

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