Celgene to present apremilast data at ACR event

Celgene has announced plans to attend the forthcoming annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), where it will share research findings on the investigational drug apremilast.

The joint ACR/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals event runs from October 25th to 31st 2013 in San Diego and will provide Celgene with an opportunity to share data on its novel, oral small-molecule selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4.

Results from two phase III trials will demonstrate the benefits the drug can provide in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis, while phase II data will show how it could help sufferers of Behcet's disease with active oral ulcers.

This latter indication could be particularly important, as there are currently no approved therapies in the EU or US for the treatment of this rare, chronic inflammatory disorder of unknown cause.

Dr Peter Callegari, global medical affairs vice-president of inflammation and immunology for Celgene, said: "We are pleased by the continued success of the clinical development programme for apremilast in both more common inflammatory as well as orphan diseases."

Earlier this month, the company announced positive data from a new trial of Imnovid, further underlining its efficacy in the treatment of multiple myeloma.