BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product Development

Small molecule chases TNF

March 15, 2004 8:00 AM UTC

For chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, it obviously would be preferable to have oral small molecules than injected macromolecules. Last week, A-Viral ASA announced the start of a Phase II trial of its AV1101 4-hydroxy-oxyphenylbutazone, an oral small molecule inhibitor of TNF and other inflammatory cytokines.

"AV1101 is a derivative of phenylbutazone and oxyphenylbutazone, both known NSAIDs with anti-inflammatory effects," said Jorgen Karlsen, director of R&D. "But our compound is distinctly different. It has a tremendous amount of cytokine regulation...