Sparrow Pharmaceuticals has announced new data from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of HSD-1 inhibitor clofutriben (SPI-62) and prednisolone in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). These findings, presented at the 2024 Annual European Alliance for Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR 2024) held from June 12-15 in Vienna, Austria, indicate that HSD-1 inhibition may enable effective glucocorticoid treatment with reduced side effects.
In a highlighted session titled “75th Anniversary of Glucocorticoids – what have we learnt?”, recent clinical advancements and key insights from 75 years of glucocorticoid use were discussed. David Katz, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Sparrow, presented the latest findings on the co-administration of HSD-1 inhibitor clofutriben with glucocorticoid medicine prednisolone in PMR patients. The study’s key points include:
- Prednisolone 10mg combined with clofutriben 6mg: Demonstrated less efficacy compared to prednisolone 10mg with placebo, but showed improvements in reducing prednisolone toxicities such as bone formation and resorption biomarkers, lipidemia, and insulin resistance.
- Prednisolone 20mg combined with clofutriben 6mg: Showed similar efficacy in terms of symptoms, physical function, and systemic inflammation compared to prednisolone 10mg with placebo, while maintaining improvements in markers of prednisolone toxicity.
“These findings suggest that glucocorticoids formed by HSD-1 play a significant role in tissues where glucocorticoid excess causes morbidity, but a lesser role in the immune system where glucocorticoid medicines are effective,” stated Dr. Katz. “We anticipate that future clinical trials will confirm that the combination of prednisolone and clofutriben can provide an effective and safer glucocorticoid therapy that patients have awaited for over 75 years.”
About Sparrow Pharmaceuticals
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals was founded to spare patients the ravages of steroids. Leveraging underappreciated scientific insights into glucocorticoid biology, the company is working to provide better treatment options for serious disorders of hypercortisolism, and to revolutionize the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Its lead product, clofutriben (SPI-62), is an oral, small molecule, novel therapeutic treatment designed to target a source of active intracellular glucocorticoids in key tissues.