Zalicus Initiates Phase 1b Clinical Study Of Z944 For Treatment Of Pain

(RTTNews) - Zalicus Inc. (ZLCS) announced Monday that it has initiated a Phase 1b clinical study with Z944, its novel oral T-type calcium channel blocker, in an experimental clinical model of neuropathic pain using Laser-Evoked Potentials or LEP. Results from the LEP study are expected in the fourth quarter 2013.

The LEP clinical model is a type of experimental medicine study designed to provide both objective and subjective data on a drug's ability to modulate pain signaling. In this model electrical voltage fluctuations evoked by laser thermal stimulation are quantified with vertex-Electroencephalography (EEG) in addition to a subject-reported pain score. Many currently approved and emerging pain drugs have been evaluated using the LEP model, providing the ability to benchmark the efficacy of Z944 against other therapies.

Z944 is a novel, oral, state-dependent, selective T-type calcium channel blocker that has demonstrated preclinical efficacy in multiple inflammatory pain models. T-type calcium channels have been recognized as key targets for therapeutic intervention in a broad range of cell functions and have been implicated in pain signaling. Zalicus has completed Phase 1 single and multiple ascending dose clinical studies evaluating the safety and tolerability of Z944 and is continuing the clinical development of Z944 during 2013.