Spherix Up 31% After Successful Toxicology Study Completion

Shares of Spherix SPEX Inc are up more than 31% today after the company announced a successful completion of a toxicology study. Results demonstrated an ample margin of safety with the dosing planned for the first-in-human study. The toxicology report will be included in the Investigational New Drug submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is expected to be submitted in the second quarter of 2012. The study also established that SPX-106 does not accumulate and is rapidly excreted after multiple days of dosing. This study, in conjunction with earlier efficacy studies, continues to support SPX-106 as a component of a combination therapy for dyslipidemia. Earlier tests have shown reduced dyslipidemia in apolipoprotein E‑deficient mice and Syrian Golden hamsters, as well as in LDL receptor-deficient mice. SPX-106T, which is SPX-106 combined with D-tagatose, is thought to treat dyslipidemia by simultaneously blocking carbohydrate conversion to lipids and promoting lipid catabolism. This latest study paves the way for the SPX-106T human clinical trial in 2012.