Amylin, Takeda plan late-stage obesity drug tests

Partners Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals said Tuesday they will take one of their experimental obesity treatments into late-stage clinical testing, and end work on a second therapy.

The companies are planning late-stage testing of a regimen combining two synthetic hormones called pramlintide and metreleptin. They are stopping development of another drug, davalintide. The decisions were made after Amylin and Takeda finished extended mid-stage clinical trials of each drug.

Amylin and Takeda partnered in November to develop the two drugs and other therapies. Amylin, based in San Diego, initially said it could get more than $1 billion from the deal.

Takeda, a Japanese drugmaker, is responsible for late-stage development and regulatory activities. Takeda is also handling most of the cost of developing the drugs in the U.S.

The companies said patients who took the combination of pramlintide and metreleptin had sustained weight loss during a 52-week study, while patients who took a placebo lost weight initially but were not able to sustain it. They said davalintide did not work better than pramlintide alone and was not as effective or safe as the pramlintide-metreleptin combination.

In afternoon trading, Amylin shares fell 64 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $17.13.

The Associated Press
Tuesday, February 23, 2010; 3:52 PM

NEW YORK