Pfizer begins Japanese trial of glaucoma drug

French drug developer NicOx SA says that US drug giant Pfizer has begun a Phase II trial of the developmental glaucoma treatment PF-03187207 in Japan. The compound, which is the lead candidate generated by the firms' 2004 R&D agreement (Marketletters passim), will be compared with Pfizer's market-leading glaucoma treatment Xalatan (latanoprost).

Early last year, Pfizer initiated a Phase II proof-of-concept study comparing the effect of PF-03187207 with that of Xalatan on intraocular pressure (Marketletter April 9, 2007). The new trial will seek to enroll 120 Japanese patients suffering from primary, open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension in one or both eyes, randomizing them to receive one of several doses of PF-03187207 or Xalatan for a 28-day period. The program's primary endpoint is an assessment of PF-03187207's effect on IOP at the end of the study compared to baseline.

Maarten Beekman, NicOx' vice president of clinical development, said that, by initiating a second Phase II study, Pfizer was demonstrating its determination to advance PF-03187207's clinical development towards a coordinated regulatory filing in all the world's major pharmaceutical markets.