ZEALAND PHARMACEUTICALS IN CLINICAL TRIALS WITH ANTI-DIABETIC 

Zealand Pharmaceuticals A/S has initiated clinical trials with its lead compound, ZP10. The compound is a GLP-1 analogue for treatment of type II diabetes.

The phase I/II clinical trial is conducted in three centres in the US. While the trial is primarily a safety and tolerability study in type II diabetic patients, the anti-diabetic effect will also be measured.

ZP10 is a GLP-1 analogue, which incorporates Zealand's proprietary SIP technology, a peptide conjugation technology. The result is a novel potent anti-diabetic with a substantially longer plasma half-life and stability than GLP-1.

In diabetic mice, ZP10 normalises fasting and meal-induced elevated blood glucose levels and rescues the deteriorating insulin synthesis capacity of b-cells during development of diabetes. Furthermore, toxicological studies up to 28 days in rats and dogs have proven ZP10 to be a highly safe compound.

The development of ZP10 is carried out as a joint venture between Zealand and Elan Corporation. The collaboration merges Zealand's peptide technology and its clinical development expertise with Elan's extensive knowledge regarding delivery systems to ensure a rapid development of ZP10 with a patient-friendly delivery method.

Zealand is a privately owned biopharmaceutical company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company was founded in 1998 and has currently three programmes in pre-clinical/clinical development, including ZP120. The company's lead compound, a GLP-1 analogue for type II diabetes, is currently in a phase I/IIA trial. Zealand has a proprietary biological platform for drug discovery, i.e. modulation of inter-cellular communication through gap junctions.

For further information please contact:

Eva Steiness,
President and CEO,
Zealand Pharma
Phone: +45 4328 1210
Email: est@zp.dk