Amgen, N.Y. Firm Testing Lou Gehrig’s Disease Drug

Amgen Inc., the Thousand Oaks biotechnology firm, says encouraging test results have been obtained for a drug it is co-developing with a New York firm to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Results have been encouraging enough to begin a third-phase trial, said Amgen and its partner in the project, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Tarrytown, N.Y.

The companies said preliminary analyses indicated that patients treated with the test compound, brain-derived neurotropic factor, showed half the rate of breathing capacity deterioration in comparison to patients on a placebo.

A spokesman for Regeneron said the partners believe their treatment is the first to indicate a reduction in the rate of breathing capacity loss.

The companies also say that treated patients showed a trend toward lengthened life span, though that result was not considered statistically significant.

Competing partners Rhone-Poulenc SA and Cephalon Inc. also are developing treatments for Lou Gehrig’s disease. They won federal permission in June to distribute their treatment free while the Food and Drug Administration considers an application for a marketing license.