CymaBay's gout drug meets main goal in mid-stage study

Last Updated: 2015-02-24

By Reuters Staff

(Reuters) - CymaBay Therapeutics Inc said its experimental drug met the main goal of reducing episodes of gout in a mid-stage study.

The company said its once-daily drug, arhalofenate, was shown to be safe and well tolerated.

The study showed 46% of patients given arhalofenate had a lower number of gout episodes, compared with patients taking standard of care treatment allopurinol.

Arhalofenate works by lowering the levels of uric acid and reducing the inflammation.

"Results from our clinical program to date suggest that arhalofenate may represent a new paradigm for the treatment of gout," Pol Boudes, CymaBay's chief medical officer, said.

This is the first study to show that arhalofenate produces reductions in flares without concomitant dosing of colchicine, an anti-inflammatory commonly prescribed to treat gout, the company said.

Described as a painful and common form of inflammatory arthritis, gout affects nearly 8.3 million Americans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing data.