CBio recruits 75th patient into XToll phase II clinical trial, achieves milestone under agreement with Novo Nordisk

Australian drug development company CBio Limited (ASX: CBZ) today announced the achievement of a clinical trial milestone under its option agreement with global pharmaceutical leader Novo Nordisk A/S. The agreement relates to the development of XToll, the potential new-generation drug therapy which could provide safer and more effective treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The clinical trial milestone was triggered by the recruitment of the 75th patient into the current 150 patient phase II clinical trial.

"We remain greatly encouraged by progress in the trial and feedback from clinical investigators, and are focussed on completing the trial and receiving the final results," said CBio Managing Director Jason Yeates.

"We believe that CBio holds an attractive pharmaceutical asset in XToll and that the drug has the potential to address the unmet needs of patients and participate in what is currently a US$17 billion global market," Mr Yeates said.

"Many patients are only partial responders to existing therapies and adverse effects from these therapies are a real issue being faced by RA patients every day. Safer and more effective treatments are needed," he said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk will make a milestone payment to CBio of US$1 million.

The agreement was signed in May 2008 and grants Novo Nordisk an exclusive option to negotiate an exclusive licence to CBio's intellectual property surrounding XToll which is currently in phase II clinical trials at sites across Australia and New Zealand. Additional clinical trial sites in Serbia, Bosnia and Georgia are expected to commence recruitment this month.

Novo Nordisk is a world leader in diabetes care and has a leading position within areas such as haemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.

Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs more than 29,000 people in 81 countries and markets its products in 179 countries.

"There is a global search underway by major pharma companies for new RA therapies that are proven to be safer and more effective than therapies now available. We believe XToll has the potential to be a part of this demand pipeline and, most importantly, improve the lives of RA sufferers," Mr Yeates said.

SOURCE CBio Limited