[Stockholm, Sweden, June 20, 2008.]Swedish drug development company OxyPharma has added clinics in two more countries to increase enrollment in its phase II clinical trial of Rabeximod, an orally administered compound for treatment of moderate or severe active Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

OxyPharma has received regulatory clearance to start enrollment of patients in clinics in Poland and Georgia, which brings the number of participating countries to nine. The company has also increased the number of clinics in some of the existing countries - Belgium, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, and the UK. The objective is to increase enrollment and speed up the study. At present, approximately one third of the required number of patients (224) has started treatment.

OxyPharma’s phase II trial of its immunomodulator, Rabeximod, is carried out in patients with moderate to severe active RA. The phase II study is done by Pharm-Olam International, a multi-national contract research organization. Principal Investigator is Prof. Lars Klareskog, Head of Rheumatology Unit at Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.

OxyPharma’s primary objective is to evaluate the clinical response rate of Rabeximod when added to a stable dose of methotrexate in 224 patients with moderate or severe active RA. Rabeximod is given orally once daily for 12 weeks.

About OxyPharma:

OxyPharma is a Swedish drug development company developing new drugs primarily for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The development programs are carried out in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden and contract research organizations (CRO’s) in England, Sweden and Israel.

OxyPharma was founded in 2002 and is based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company’s largest shareholder is innovator and entrepreneur Leif Lundblad (mainly through his investment company LLD Nybohov Invest). Ulf Björklund is OxyPharma’s CEO.

For additional information please contact:

 

Ulf Björklund

CEO, OxyPharma AB              

Phone: +46 8 726 17 02 or +46 70 667 04 40            
Email: ulf.bjorklund@oxypharma.com         

 

or

Peter Karaszi

Press Officer, OxyPharma AB              

Phone: +27 83 243 57 97 or +46 70 341 46 53     
Email: peter.karaszi@oxypharma.com         

Also see our web site: www.oxypharma.com

 

OxyPharma is a member of SwedenBIO. For more information about Swedish biotech, please visit www.swedenbio.com