Idera Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Authorization to Proceed with a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of IMO-3100 in Patients with Psoriasis

Published on Thursday, 01 December 2011 08:39 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-( Business Wire )-

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDRA) today announced the receipt of verbal notification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the company may proceed with a Phase 2 clinical trial of IMO-3100 in patients with psoriasis based on a trial protocol submitted by the company in October 2011. IMO-3100 is a dual antagonist of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR9 and is in clinical development as a potential therapy for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

“We are pleased to have the FDA’s notification that we can proceed with a Phase 2 clinical trial of IMO-3100 in patients with psoriasis,” said Sudhir Agrawal, D.Phil., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Idera. “We are now preparing for this Phase 2 trial of our novel dual-TLR antagonist for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and expect to initiate the study in the first half of 2012.”

Idera has selected psoriasis as the initial indication for the first clinical evaluation of IMO-3100 in patients with autoimmune disease. In July 2011, the company submitted a Phase 2 protocol to evaluate IMO-3100 in patients with psoriasis over a 12-week treatment period. As previously announced, this protocol was put on clinical hold by the FDA. In October 2011, the company submitted a new Phase 2 protocol to evaluate IMO-3100 in patients with psoriasis over a 4-week treatment period, for which the company has received notification of FDA authorization to proceed.

About IMO-3100

IMO-3100, an antagonist of TLR7 and TLR9, is a lead clinical candidate in development to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. IMO-3100 is designed to block production of multiple cytokines induced through TLR7 and TLR9. In contrast, many current autoimmune disease treatments aim to block the activity of individual cytokines. IMO-3100 has demonstrated potent activity in reducing pathologic and immunologic manifestations in preclinical mouse models of diseases such as lupus, arthritis, psoriasis and hyperlipidemia. Phase 1 clinical trials of IMO-3100, including an escalating single-dose study and a multiple-dose study, have been completed in healthy subjects.

About Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Idera Pharmaceuticals applies its proprietary Toll-like Receptor (TLR) drug discovery platform to create immunomodulatory drug candidates. The Company's TLR-targeted candidates are being developed to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, cancer, and for use as vaccine adjuvants. Additionally, the Company is advancing its gene-silencing oligonucleotide (GSO) technology for the purpose of inhibiting the expression of disease-promoting genes. For more information, visit http://www.iderapharma.com.

Idera Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "estimates," "intends," "should," "could," "will," "may," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Idera's actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including whether products based on Idera's technology, such as IMO-3100, will advance into or through the clinical trial process on a timely basis or at all and receive approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; whether, if the Company's products receive approval, they will be successfully distributed and marketed; whether the Company's collaborations will be successful; whether Idera's cash resources will be sufficient to fund the Company's operations; and such other important factors as are set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in Idera's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 which important factors are incorporated herein by reference. Idera disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Lou Arcudi, 617-679-5517larcudi@iderapharma.comorMacDougall Biomedical CommunicationsChris Erdman, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.