Gemphire Therapeutics Announces Publication of Phase 2 Data for Gemcabene in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology
The paper Efficacy and Safety of Gemcabene as Add-On To Stable Statin Therapy in Hypercholesterolemic Patients discusses the results of an eight week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial (1027-018) evaluating two dose levels of gemcabene (300mg QD, 900mg QD) versus placebo, added on top of stable statin therapy, in 66 hypercholesterolemic patients whose low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) remained ≥ 130 mg/dL. The primary endpoint was the mean percent change from baseline LDL-C at week 8. Secondary endpoints included; percentage change from baseline in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), VLDL-C, HDL-C, apoB and c-reactive protein (CRP). Safety and tolerability were also assessed.
The study demonstrated that gemcabene, when added to stable statin therapy, resulted in a clinically meaningful reduction in LDL-C and other key parameters after eight weeks. Patients randomized to 300mg and 900mg once-daily (QD) doses of gemcabene plus statins achieved reductions in LDL-C of -23.4% and -27.7%, respectively, versus -6.2% for placebo. Gemcabene was well-tolerated with a safety profile on top of statins similar to statin therapy alone.
“Elevated LDL-C is the most validated and modifiable risk factor resulting in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite the effectiveness of statins, there remain a significant percentage of patients with CVD, or at high risk of CVD, who cannot achieve optimal LDL-C levels with statins alone. There are also large numbers who are unable to tolerate statins at effective doses,” said Dr.
Dr.
Additional study findings:
- Significant reductions in non-HDL-C were observed in gemcabene-treated patients versus placebo. Patients randomized to 300mg QD and 900mg QD of gemcabene on top of statins achieved additional reductions in non-HDL-C of -19.8% and -23.9%, respectively, as compared to -6.9% for placebo.
- Patients randomized to 300mg QD and 900mg QD of gemcabene on top of statins achieved additional reductions in apoB of -11.9% and -17.2%, respectively, versus -2.8% for placebo.
- Patients randomized to 300mg QD and 900mg QD of gemcabene on top of statins achieved additional reductions in CRP of -26.1% and -53.9%, respectively, versus a reduction of -11.1% for the placebo group.
“We are pleased to announce this first of several planned publications by Gemphire in peer reviewed journals that showcase gemcabene’s extensive Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical data package,” added
The full publication on
About Gemcabene
Gemphire’s lead product candidate, gemcabene (CI-1027), is a novel, once-daily, oral therapy that may be suitable for patients who are unable to achieve normal levels of LDL-C or triglycerides with currently approved therapies, primarily statins. Gemcabene's differentiated mechanism of action is designed to enhance the clearance of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs) in the plasma and inhibit the production of cholesterol and triglycerides in the liver. The combined effect for these mechanisms has been observed to result in a reduction of plasma VLDL-C, LDL-C, and triglycerides, as well as markedly lowering C-reactive protein. Gemcabene is liver-directed and reduces apoC-III mRNA and plasma levels and may also inhibit acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) which has applications in NASH/NAFLD. Gemcabene has been tested as monotherapy and in combination with statins and other drugs in 895 subjects across 18 Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials and has demonstrated promising evidence of efficacy, safety and tolerability.
About Gemphire
Gemphire is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of dyslipidemia, a serious medical condition that increases the risk of life threatening cardiovascular disease, and NAFLD/NASH (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease). Please visit www.gemphire.com for more information.
Forward Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about Gemphire’s future expectations, plans and prospects, including statements about Gemphire’s financial prospects, future operations and sufficiency of funds for future operations, clinical development of Gemphire’s product candidate, expectations regarding future clinical trials and future expectations and plans and prospects for Gemphire and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "targets," "may," "potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the success and timing of Gemphire’s regulatory submissions and pre-clinical and clinical trials; regulatory developments; changes to Gemphire’s clinical trial designs and regulatory pathways; changes in Gemphire’s capital resource requirements; Gemphire’s ability to obtain additional financing; Gemphire’s ability to successfully market and distribute its product candidate, if approved; Gemphire’s ability to obtain and maintain its intellectual property protection; and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Gemphire’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended
Contact:Andrew McDonald , Ph.D.LifeSci Advisors, LLC (646) 597-6987Jeff Mathiesen , CFOGemphire Therapeutics (734)-245-1700