Jerini AG completes enrollment in Ph III Icatibant trial

German pharmaceutical company Jerini AG says that the last participant in a Phase III trial of its synthetic peptidomimetic Icatibant, used in the treatment of hereditary angiodema, has been enrolled and randomized. The study, known as FAST-2, is one of two assessments of the drug as a subcutaneous therapy for HAE that the Berlin-headquartered firm is carrying out. Icatibant acts by blocking the cellular B2 receptor as an antagonist to the peptide-hormone bradykinin, which is found at elevated levels in HAE patients and is thought to be responsible for edema formation. The drug has been granted Orphan Drug designation by regulatory agencies in the European Union and the USA.