Lpath Initiates First-in-Human Dosing in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Lpathomab

Lpath, Inc. LPTN, the industry leader in bioactive lipid-targeted therapeutics, announced that the first cohort of six subjects has been dosed in the Phase 1 clinical trial with LpathomabTM. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Lpathomab in healthy volunteers. The trial also aims to establish a maximum tolerated dose for future clinical studies in patients with neuropathic pain. The trial will include a total of five cohorts at increasing doses. Dario Paggiarino, M.D., Lpath's senior vice president, chief development officer said, "The dosing of our first subjects with Lpathomab is a significant milestone and we are very pleased to begin the development of this important product candidate intended to treat neuropathic pain, which is an area of tremendous unmet medical need." Lpathomab is an antibody targeting lysophosphatidic acid, or LPA, a bioactive lipid that has been characterized in the scientific literature as playing a key role in nerve injury and neuropathic pain. Lpath's preclinical studies showed strong in vivo results with Lpathomab in several different pain models, which suggest that LPA may be an attractive target across a variety of chronic pain conditions, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain and pain associated with lumbosacral radiculopathy. Other preclinical studies have also demonstrated the potential for Lpathomab as a treatment for traumatic brain injury.