Dr. Radi Shahien, MD, principal investigator of the CEASE-MS study, added: “RRMS is a devastating disease with no known cure, limited treatment options and unknown cause, hence the importance of the development of RHB-104, an intracellularly acting, anti-mycobacterial, anti-inflammatory and orally administered drug candidate. CEASE-MS is … intended to investigate the groundbreaking hypothesis that a bacterial induced dysregulated immune system plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of MS. RedHill’s CEASE-MS study with RHB-104 is the first clinical study to evaluate the therapeutic potential of a triple antibiotic combination therapy, and specifically these intracellularly acting antibiotics, as add-on therapy in RRMS. The initial analysis of the study’s interim results provides encouraging clinical signals as well as important and reassuring safety data. In particular, the reduction of total T2 lesion burden over baseline, a key MS disease burden measurement, as well as relapse-free and stable EDSS data, are positive and meaningful signals, particularly given the small patient population in the study and the early time point of the data generated to date. I find the interim results very promising and am encouraged by the potential efficacy of RHB-104 in treating MS. I look forward to the completion of the study, further analyses and presentation of the final data at the appropriate international medical and academic forums.”
