NicOx osteoarthritis drug fails comparison study

France's NicOx says its drug naproxcinod failed to achieve its primary endpoint in a blood pressure study, but researchers touted its success for a secondary endpoint. The trial results showed a 2 mmHg difference in both the average systolic and diastolic blood pressure in favor of naproxcinod when compared to naproxen.

"We are encouraged that this study has shown a clear and positive differentiation in the blood pressure curves for naproxcinod compared to naproxen when viewed over 24 hours," said Maarten Beekman, vice president of clinical development at NicOx. "These results are in line with the difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure that we observed for naproxcinod at two weeks in the recently announced results from the 301 phase 3 trial. We will continue to analyze the data, with a view to increasing our understanding of naproxcinod's potentially beneficial blood pressure effect."

- here's the release on the trial