Clinic Roundup

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., reported results from a Phase II study of VX-765, a caspase-1 inhibitor, in 60 patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy, with data showing a similar safety profile for VX-765 as compared to placebo, the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoint data showed that 13 percent of patients in the treatment arm showed a 50 percent or greater reduction in seizure frequency vs. 0 percent in the placebo arm, and 19 percent of patients on VX-765 were seizure-free in the last two weeks of treatment vs. 9 percent on placebo.