XOMA Initiates Gevokizumab Phase 2 Study

Approximately 170 patients will be randomized to receive one of two dose levels of gevokizumab or placebo administered subcutaneously over a three-month period.

US-based biotechnology company XOMA Ltd. has begun dosing patients in its Phase 2 proof-of-concept study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gevokizumab (XOMA 052), a potent inhibitor of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), for the treatment of the inflammatory lesions seen in moderate to severe acne vulgaris.

Approximately 170 patients will be randomized to receive one of two dose levels of gevokizumab or placebo administered subcutaneously over a three-month period.

The primary study efficacy endpoint is the mean absolute change from baseline in inflammatory facial lesion count after three months of therapy.

"This is the first in a series of clinical studies that we plan to conduct i