Ardana's BPH drug effective with just two annual doses

Scottish drugmaker Ardana says that preliminary data from a Phase II study of its long-acting gonadotrophin antagonist Teverelix, indicates that only two maintenance treatments a year are required to effectively treat the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The firm added that this is a considerable improvement over currently-available BPH therapies.

Previous studies have shown that the drug reduces testosterone levels to the low end of the normal range in a dose-dependent manner, thereby avoiding chemical castration and its associated symptoms.

The reported Phase II study was a follow-on assessment of the effect of a second injection in patients who had received treatment of an equivalent dosage in an earlier trial. The results showed that Teverelix' beneficial effects, as measured using International Prostate Symptom Score criteria, were significant and sustained over the 28-week assessment period.