NG2-73, a drug discovered by Neurogen Corporation of Branford, Cont, has shown promise as a treatment for transient insomnia. In a Phase II human-testing study on 369 subjects, researchers found that NG2-73 reduced onset time of persistent sleep versus placebo.
According to the top-line results, NG2-73 demonstrated statistically significant improvement over placebo (overall p<0.0001) for reducing latency to persistent sleep (LPS) at all doses tested. In addition, the study subjects tolerated NG2-73 well at all doses, and there were no drug-related serious adverse events or drug-related premature subject withdrawals.
“In studies to date, NG2-73 has been shown to be a safe and potent sleep agent that reduces sleep latency and increases total sleep time and sleep efficiency,” said principal investigator Gary Zammit, PhD, president and CEO of CliniLabs Inc and clinical associate professor of psychology (in psychiatry) at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “The fast onset of action of this compound may serve to differentiate it from other sleep agents, providing an important treatment option for patients suffering from insomnia.”
The results are a big boost for Neurogen. “We are excited to have met our primary endpoint in this Phase II study in such a conclusive manner,” said William H. Koster, the company’s president and CEO. “We have confirmation of the efficacy of NG2-73 and have narrowed our focus on the therapeutic dose range which we’ll be taking into subsequent studies. As in our previous Phase I studies, NG2-73 was well-tolerated, an essential characteristic for therapeutic agents for the treatment of patients with insomnia. Over 20 million people in the United States are estimated to suffer from some form of insomnia and the market is expected to grow dramatically over the next several years. The needs of insomnia patients vary greatly and the emerging treatments, such as NG2-73, should help to much better serve this patient population.”
For more information about Neurogen, visit: www.neurogen.com
