Tioga commences late-stage trial for IBS treatment

SAN DIEGO Tioga Pharmaceuticals has started a late-stage clinical trial of an investigational drug for irritable bowel syndrome, Tioga said Thursday.

The San Diego-based drug maker said it dosed its first test subject with asimadoline, a drug for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, in the ASMP3001 trial. The trial is the first of two and will take place at 120 sites in the United States with 600 patients.

“In the phase 2b study, asimadoline was shown to significantly improve both pain and abnormal motility in D-IBS patients with at least moderate pain,” Tioga consulting chief medical officer Allan Mangel said. “The millions of patients suffering from this condition in the U.S. have very limited therapeutic options, illustrating a high unmet medical need Tioga is seeking to address.”