Arecor Therapeutics PLC (AIM:AREC) has announced positive results from the Phase I clinical trial of its ultra-rapid acting, ultra-concentrated insulin product candidate, AT278, at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting.
AT278 is designed to significantly accelerate insulin absorption post-injection to enable more effective and convenient management of blood glucose levels in people with high daily insulin requirements.
Dr Thomas Pieber, investigator for the ARE-278-102 study, Professor of Medicine, Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism and chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Austria, said: "The rapid-acting characteristics of AT278, even with its 5-fold increase in concentration, are clinically significant, suggesting that AT278 has the potential to significantly improve post prandial glucose control and reduce the number of daily injections for people with diabetes who have high insulin needs."
Sarah Howell, chief executive officer of Arecor, added: "By enabling reduced injection volumes and fewer injections per day, whilst offering the potential for improved blood glucose control with its superior PK/PD profile, AT278 has the potential to become the gold standard insulin treatment for the growing population of people living with diabetes, who have high daily insulin needs, particularly those with type 2 diabetes.”
The trial, conducted in Austria, compared AT278 to NovoRapid, the current gold standard treatment, in 38 patients with type 1 diabetes.
The PK/PD profile for AT278 was accelerated compared with NovoRapid and after dosage AT278 showed a faster onset of insulin exposure compared with NovoRapid.
All reported adverse events were mild in intensity and no safety signals were detected.
A further clinical trial of AT278, in people living with type 2 diabetes, is expected to be initiated later this year.