Suven starts phase I clinical trials of SUVN-502

MUMBAI: Pharmaceutical firm Suven Life Sciences today said it has commenced phase I clinical trials of SUVN-502, used in the treatment of Alzheimer's, hyperactivity, Parkinson and Schizopherenia. The study is being conducted at Basel, Switzerland under a clinical Trial Application (CTA) approved by SwissMedic, the regulatory authority of Switzerland, Suven said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"We believe SUVN-502 has a great potential to become a novel treatment for disorders affecting memory and cognition in Alzheimer's and other damential," Suven Life Sciences Discovery Research Vice President Ramkrishna Nirogi said.
"The single ascending dose studies are expected to be complete by September this year, while the multiple ascending dose studies would be conducted during October-December 2008," Suven added. The company is also in discussions for potential licensing partners for this compound. Suven targets to launch the molecule in 2012 and aims to be an early launcher in this class.

Other molecules under the same category currently under development, include GSK's molecule presently in Phase II.
At present, Suven has six internally discovered therapeutic drug candidates currently in pre-clinical stage of development targeting conditions such as demetia, depression, Huntington's, Parkinson's among others.