Genesis begins trial for psoriasis treatment

Genesis Research and Development Corporation has commenced a Phase II clinical trial to test the efficacy of its PVAC treatment for psoriasis when administered in combination with Ultra Violet-B (UVB) light therapy.

Genesis R&D CEO Jim Watson said that the trial was designed after US physicians involved in an earlier trial noticed that some patients who initially did not respond to PVAC showed pronounced improvement when they returned to UVB treatment.

The trial, which will be run in New Zealand, will involve 60 patients in a randomised, double-blinded study.

Half of the patients will receive PVAC via an intradermal injection at the start of the study and also at week three, and half will receive a placebo, and all patients will have UVB administered three times a week for eight weeks.

Final evaluations will be carried out at 20 weeks, and will look at improvements in disease severity. Watson said that patients with mild to moderate psoriasis aged from 16-70, who have not previously had UVB therapy, would be enrolled in the trial. He expects that the trial will take approximately six months to complete.

"This trial provides an opportunity to explore the efficacy of PVAC as an adjuvant treatment for patients suffering from mild to moderate levels of psoriasis," said Watson.

Meanwhile, a larger Phase II trial to examine PVAC for effectiveness in patients with mild to moderate psoriasis is underway in the US, with partner company Corixa, but Watson said that that study would probably take 12 months to complete.

Corixa has partnered Genesis R&D on the PVAC project since the start of Phase II studies.

Genesis has also announced that it has completed requirements for full listing on the Australian stock exchange and will be transferred to full listing on July 1, 2002. Until now it has been a foreign exempt listing.

Watson said that he believed the move would have two main benefits for the company.

"We'll get more exposure as we'll appear on the main board, and it will help us market our shares. We would like to increase the number of Australian shareholders," he said.