Solbec Pharmaceuticals has successfully completed the first stage of its Phase 1 clinical trial of its SBP002 compound in the treatment of psoriasis.
In the first stage of the trial, SBP002 cream was applied to an area of skin on healthy individuals who were monitored for unwanted effects and reactions.
Reaching this milestone opens the way for the trial to move to the next stage of testing in which the dosage regime will be similar to the proposed therapeutic administration.
The trial’s overall objective is to show that SBP002 can be used by psoriasis patients safely.
The trial is the first formal human testing of an SBP002-based cream targeted at the treatment of psoriasis, a common non-infectious skin disease for which there is no cure.
The trial is being conducted at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Solbec expects the final completion of the trial in the first quarter of 2005.
The SBP002 compound is also being used as an anti-cancer treatment.
Pre-clinical trials have been completed and human phase 1 trials are underway at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
The company is targeting the compound at the treatment of mesothelioma and malignant melanoma.
SBP002 is drawn from an African weed that grows in Australia, more commonly known as the Devil’s Apple.
Queensland stockman’s lore had it that rubbing the sap of the weed’s fruit on a skin cancer would make it shrink.