Hollis-Eden advances two potential first-in-class drugs into mid-stage testing

US drug developer Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals says that it made strong progress in the second quarter of 2008, advancing two clinical development programs for compounds that it believes could be first-in-class therapies.

The firm, which specializes in endogenous steroid hormone drugs, says trials are now underway in four indications with its lead candidates. Triolex (HE3286), a potential first-in-class insulin sensitizer and anti-inflammatory without immune suppression or bone loss, has entered a Phase II study for type 2 diabetes and in Phase I/II assessments for ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis. Apoptone (HE3235), a first-in-class apoptosis drug, has begun Phase I/II testing for prostate cancer.

In June, the San Diego-based firm reported positive interim data from an ongoing Phase I/II trial of Triolex in obese insulin resistant subjects, supporting the potential benefit of an anti-inflammatory approach to improving insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes.