DOV Pharmaceuticals has suspended dosing in a pivotal stage clinical trial of an experimental anxiety drug. Researchers say they acted after growing worried by the liver enzyme levels of patients taking ocinaplon. Hackensack, New Jersey-based DOV says that they had planned to enlist 373 health subjects with generalized anxiety disorders in the four-week trial. DOV says it will continue to monitor subjects as it analyzes data over the next few months and determines whether to move ahead with the trial or focus on another compound in the pipeline.
"While committed to moving forward with the development of ocinaplon, DOV is, first and foremost, dedicated to ensuring the safety of all participants in our clinical trials," said Dr. Warren Stern, senior vice president of drug development at DOV. "In addition to ocinaplon, DOV's active and ongoing GABA modulator program for the treatment of anxiety includes several late-stage preclinical candidates that could substitute for ocinaplon if required."
- read this press release for more information