Titan’s drug delivery platform ProNeura delivers L-T3 with
October 20, 2017San Francisco-based drugmaker Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc. said on Thursday that ProNeura implants continuously released L-T3 dose dependently for more than six months, providing important initial in vivo information for the potential development as a treatment of hypothyroidism.
According to the company, while treatment of hypothyroidism with daily oral levothyroxine (L-T4) alone is effective in most hypothyroid patients, about 15 percent report feeling inadequately treated and are often prescribed a combination of L-T3 with L-T4. A sustained release L-T3 formulation could be an important alternative to combination therapy, as compliance with multiple daily dosing regimens can be challenging.
Titan Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer Kate Beebe said that the initial non-clinical data are encouraging. The data showed the delivery of L-T3 with ProNeura continuous, long-term drug delivery platform, Beebe said that the results merit further studies to evaluate the potential therapeutic substitution of, or combination with L-T4 for the treatment of hypothyroidism. The Titan’s chief developer said that additional discussions with endocrinology experts are needed to continue assessment of the product development and regulatory pathways, as well as to further evaluate the market opportunity and potential for collaboration.
In its statement, Titan said that ProNeura-based L-T3 implants were formulated and tested in the study for release characteristics in several non-clinical models. Pharmacokinetics of T3, T4, and TSH levels were assessed for varying implant doses in serum samples taken pre- and post-implantation. Results showed these L-T3 implants continuously released non-fluctuating levels of T3 dose dependently for over 6 months. The full poster will be available in the publications section of the Titan website following the presentation, the press release revealed.
Image source: Titan Pharmaceuticals
