Apricus Reports Top-Line Phase 2a Data for RayVa(TM), Its Topical Treatment for Raynaud's Phenomenon

Apricus Biosciences, Inc.

, a biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative medicines in urology and rheumatology, today announced top-line results from the RayVa™ Phase 2a trial in patients with scleroderma who also suffer from Raynaud's phenomenon ("Raynaud's"). The primary objective of this clinical trial was to establish safety and tolerability and to look for pharmacodynamic effects in this targeted Raynaud's population. The RayVa Phase 2a trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that enrolled approximately thirty-five subjects across four U.S. sites. The clinical trial was based on an experimental design wherein subjects were exposed to a cold challenge to assess blood flow (hemodynamic) and skin temperature (thermodynamic) changes, by laser Doppler and thermography, as a result of the vasoconstriction characteristic of Raynaud's. In each case, subjects were exposed to a dose of placebo and a dose of one of three active doses, and served as their own control. Importantly, there were no significant safety or tolerability issues observed in any dosing cohort. Moreover, while this exploratory study was not designed or powered to show a statistically significant pharmacodynamics result, there were subjects who demonstrated improvements in blood flow and/or hand temperature across all dosing cohorts. Apricus believes that this data, coupled with previously generated non-clinical data, supports moving RayVa forward into future clinical trials designed to evaluate symptomatic effects in subjects with Raynaud's secondary to scleroderma. "This clinical trial was an important step for the company, and one in which the company acquired additional pharmacodynamic data that will help inform the future development of the product candidate. As this was the first in human study in this patient population, we are pleased to have confirmed safety and tolerability, as well as improvements in blood flow and skin temperature in certain subjects. The next steps will be to continue formulation development activities for at-home dosing, and complete study planning for our future clinical trials," said Barbara Troupin, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Apricus. "Looking forward, we will move RayVa into later-stage clinical trials designed to address the symptoms of an acute Raynaud's attack, which is an important regulatory endpoint for this indication, as well as a clinically meaningful outcome for patients who suffer from this debilitating disease." "This patient population has been without meaningful treatment options to address the acute symptoms of Raynaud's, which can include pain and functional limitations in the hands and feet, impairing work and family time," said Dr. Elena Schiopu, Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "As the lead investigator for this exploratory study, I was very pleased with the insights we have gained about this novel compound and how well it was tolerated by my patients, and I look forward to working with Apricus on future clinical trials to address this unmet medical need." Apricus intends to move RayVa into a later stage Phase 2 clinical trial in 2016. This clinical trial will be designed to assess safety and efficacy in an at-home dosing setting evaluating a symptomatic response to the treatment of an acute episode. To accomplish this, Apricus will complete development of the clinical protocol for at-home dosing, finalize the RayVa formulation and delivery system, and complete manufacturing of clinical trial materials.