DDI Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that it will initiate twonew study programs for its anti-oxidant proteins bovinesuperoxide dismutase (SOD) and PEG-recombinant human SOD(Peg-hSOD).

DDI (NASDAQ:DDIX) of Mountain View, Calif., will start humantrials to evaluate the efficacy of bovine SOD to manageosteoarthritis pain. DDI will also begin animal studies with PEG-hSOD to test for toxicity and dosage requirement for this newdrug.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affectingmore than 16 million people in the U.S. "The new study isspecifically designed to avoid concomitant medicationcomplications which interfere with study results when studypatients are using other drugs," said Mark Saifer, vice presidentand scientific director of DDI. He hopes to have the studycompleted by the end of 1994.

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