Ipsen and Roche announce Taspoglutide study success

Ipsen and Roche revealed this week that a compound that they have been jointly working on has met its primary endpoints during two phase III trials.

Taspoglutide (R1583), the first once-weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue, is being tested for use in adult patients with diabetes.

During two recent studies, the primary endpoints were all met by Taspoglutide, which was well-tolerated in patients and was compared to the insulin glargine (Lantus) and placebo treatments.

Nausea and vomiting were the most frequent adverse effects reported by patients when using the drug.

Taspoglutide is currently being developed by Roche as a novel treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus sufferers – the fourth leading cause of death in the majority of developed countries.

Last month, Ipsen revealed positive data from a trial into its first-in-class orally available irreversible steroid sulfatase inhibitor BN83495, which is being investigated for its effectiveness in treating metastatic breast cancer.