NMSS grants Adeona's ongoing Trimesta trial with $409,426 to treat MS

Mar 28 2011

Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: AEN), a developer of innovative medicines for serious central nervous system diseases, announced today that the ongoing clinical trial of its Trimesta™ (oral estriol) drug candidate has received an additional $409,426 in grant funding from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). The clinical trial is led by, Rhonda Voskuhl, M.D., Director, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Multiple Sclerosis Program, UCLA Department of Neurology. Adeona also announced that as of March 1, 2011, the clinical trial evaluating the reduction in the rate of relapses in female multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is 85% enrolled.

"We are very grateful to the NMSS for its continuous support of this MS program, from the preclinical development to the pilot and multi-center clinical trials, and now this current grant funding," said Dr. Voskuhl. "Their commitment to pursuing estriol for MS could potentially lead to a new, safe and effective oral therapy for this debilitating disease."

This ongoing clinical trial previously received a $5 million grant from the NMSS in partnership with the NMSS's Southern California chapter, with support from the National Institutes of Health, and $860,440 in grant funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In November 2010, Adeona announced that it was awarded $244,480 under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program to support research and development expenses related to the Company's MS program.

The 150-patient, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of Trimesta is currently underway at 15 centers in the United States. Investigators are administering either Trimesta or matching placebo along with glatimer acetate (Copaxone®), an FDA-approved therapy for MS, to women between the ages of 18-50 who have been recently diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS. With 127 out of 150 patients enrolled in the clinical trial by March 1, 2011, the Company anticipates full enrollment by the second half of 2011.

SOURCE Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc.