On July 21, 2015, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISIS) today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of ISIS-HTTRx in patients with Huntington's disease (HD). ISIS-HTTRx is the first therapy to enter clinical development that is designed to directly target the cause of the disease by reducing the production of the protein responsible for HD. HD is a rare genetic neurological disease in which patients experience deterioration of both mental abilities and physical control. Presently, there are no disease-modifying treatments for HD, with current therapies focused only on treating disease symptoms. ISIS-HTTRx has been granted orphan drug designation by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of patients with HD. Orphan drug designation is granted to products designed to diagnose, prevent, or treat life-threatening or very serious conditions that affect not more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union. "Although the toxic protein produced from the huntingtin (HTT) gene in HD patients has been a target of interest for many years, no therapies have advanced to clinical trials to treat the underlying cause of the disease. Our antisense technology has enabled us to discover and develop ISIS-HTTRx, the first therapeutic approach designed to treat the genetic cause of HD. Together with Roche, we are committed to investigating this approach to treat patients with HD, a devastating disease that typically affects generations of families," said C. Frank Bennett, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research at Isis Pharmaceuticals. "Initiating the clinical study of ISIS-HTTRx in patients with HD is the first step in developing a treatment that could significantly impact a patient's disease. It is also an important milestone in our collaboration with Roche.Login Or Register To Read Full Story