Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Completes Enrollment In A Phase 2 Study Of MM-093 In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. announced that enrollment has been completed in a Phase 2 trial
of 100 patients that evaluates the safety and efficacy of its lead product,
MM-093, in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MM-093 is a
recombinant version of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP).


The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 study is
being conducted at 20 centers throughout the United States. The objective
of this study is to examine the safety and efficacy of MM-093 in patients
with moderate to severe, active RA despite treatment with stable doses of
methotrexate. Each patient receives 60mg of MM-093 per week or placebo for
12 weeks and will then be followed for a period of 4 weeks. In addition to
evaluating the safety of MM-093, patients will be assessed for changes in
the signs and symptoms of their disease using standard clinical outcome
measurements for RA, such as ACR20 and DAS28 scores. Patients who complete
the study are eligible to participate in an ongoing Open-Label Extension
study, which has enrolled over 35 patients to date.



"We are pleased to have completed enrollment and are thankful for the
enthusiasm of the investigators who have worked diligently to enroll
patients," said Dr. William Slichenmyer, Senior Vice President and Chief
Medical Officer at Merrimack. "We believe MM-093 represents a promising and
novel approach to the treatment of a broad range of autoimmune diseases. We
look forward to completing the study and communicating the results later
this year."



In addition to the ongoing studies in RA, MM-093 is currently being
tested in a pilot study for patients with certain types of autoimmune
uveitis, an inflammatory disorder of the eye.



Merrimack controls a strong intellectual property estate around MM-093
including 15 issued patents and a number of pending applications, both in
the U.S. and internationally, which cover composition of matter, production
methods and therapeutic uses of the drug.



Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a biotechnology company focused on
the discovery and development of novel treatments for diseases in the areas
of autoimmunity and cancer. Its lead compound, MM-093, is currently in
clinical development to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis or with
autoimmune uveitis. MM-093 is an investigational drug and has not been
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any international
regulatory agency. The company's proprietary Network Biology discovery
platform, developed with the help of leading scientists from MIT and
Harvard, enables the high throughput profiling of protein networks as a
basis for improved validation, lead identification and speed in the
development of innovative, effective and safe therapeutics. Merrimack is a
privately-held company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For additional
information, please visit merrimackpharma.


Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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