Isis Says Arthritis Drug Shows Promise in Study

Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is developing drugs for cancer and autoimmune diseases, said Monday that an experimental medicine eased patients’ rheumatoid arthritis symptoms in a study.

The Carlsbad, Calif., company said 41% of patients who received the treatment had a measurable improvement. Rheumatoid arthritis is a crippling form of the joint disease, which primarily afflicts women.

If approved, the medicine, known as Isis 104838, would compete against Amgen Inc.’s Enbrel, Abbott Laboratories’ Humira and Johnson & Johnson Inc.’s Remicade.

Isis executives said they also were working on an oral version, which may provide the company with an edge over competitors whose treatments must be injected or given as an intravenous infusion.

“If they can get an oral formulation, that would be a significant advantage over what’s already out there,” said David Bouchey, an analyst at CE Unterberg Towbin.

Shares of the company rose 67 cents to $7.48 on Nasdaq.

Fewer patients had a measurable improvement in arthritis symptoms with the Isis medicine than in studies of competing drugs. About 64% of patients who received Humira, approved for use a year ago, benefited.

Isis Chief Executive Stanley Crooke said the company would study ways to make its drug more effective, such as lengthening treatment.

“The nature of the drug is that we may have to give longer exposure to reach that target,” he said during a conference call with analysts.

The company also will study the drug in combination with methotrexate, an older medicine often prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis.

Isis, in the second of three stages of human studies on the drug, will begin more tests this year. The Food and Drug Administration typically requires three phases of studies before it approves a medicine.