Anthera Updates Phase 3 Plans

Anthera Pharmaceuticals ANTH, a biopharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat serious diseases associated with inflammation and autoimmune disorders, today announced results from the Phase 2b PEARL-SC clinical study in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The purpose of the PEARL-SC study was to identify an effective and safe dose for future phase 3 clinical studies and explore key inclusion criteria and clinical endpoints in an effort to maximize differentiation of blisibimod from currently available therapies. The 200mg weekly subcutaneous dose of blisibimod demonstrated a strong trend in improved clinical response as early as week 16 (p= 0.14), at the primary endpoint (p=0.15) and throughout week 44 including a statistically significant improvement at week 20 versus placebo (p=0.02). In a predefined phase 3 target population of severely ill, seropositive lupus patients, defined as SELENA-SLEDAI ≥10 and receiving background corticosteroid medication, a more pronounced effect was seen in the 200mg weekly dose group demonstrating a 13.8% treatment difference compared to placebo at 24 weeks. In this subgroup, planned for phase 3 studies, separation of clinical response occurred as early as week 8 and was also sustained through week 44.