BiolineRX Ltd. (TASE:BLRX) has successfully completed its Phase I clinical trial of BL-1020 for the treatment of schizophrenia. The trial on 48 patients showed that the drug was safe for use and had fewer major side effects than existing treatments.
The trial was carried on healthy test subjects, rendering it impossible to know BL-1020’s effectiveness. BiolineRX said that the trial showed a reduction in dopamine concentrations in the brain. Dopamine is believed to be linked with schizophrenia. Current schizophrenia treatments also reduce dopamine levels, but at the cost of severe side effects, which patients cannot handle. BL-1020 did not show such severe side effects in the present trial.
BL-1020 also caused an increase in levels of gabba, a substance also connected with schizophrenia. No current treatment affects the gabba mechanism, suggesting that BL-1020 will help some of the 40% of schizophrenics for whom current treatments are ineffective.
The Phase II clinical trials to test BL-1020’s effectiveness are scheduled to begin during the second quarter of 2007. These trials will test the drug’s effect on schizophrenia symptoms for the first time.
BiolineRX went public last week in the largest-ever IPO by a biomedical company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The company raised NSI 211 million at a company value of NIS 283 million, before money. The offering was oversubscribed 608%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on February 14, 2007
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