Pharm-Olam Enrolls Patients in Zealand Pharma Orphan Drug Study

Houston, Feb. 5, 2019 – Pharm-Olam, a global, midsized CRO offering full-service clinical development solutions for rare and orphan diseases along with oncology, infectious diseases, and vaccines, is now enrolling patients in the U.S. and Europe into a pivotal Phase III study within the treatment of short bowel syndrome (SBS).

“Zealand Pharma has been an excellent study sponsor to work with, and this study combines our teams’ talents in orphan and gastrointestinal diseases,” said Yamin Khan, Ph.D., executive vice president, clinical development, at Pharm-Olam. “As a leader in orphan research with over 100 studies, we look forward to completing enrollment and successfully delivering this critical program for Zealand.”

Initiated in early October 2018, the study is a placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group, double-blind clinical trial with fixed-dose injections. The trial is being conducted at approximately 40 investigational sites in the United States, Canada, and Europe and will ultimately enroll 129 patients with SBS.

Because people with SBS often cannot absorb enough nutrients, the trial will help determine if parenteral support volume can be reduced. Zealand Pharma is developing a long-acting GLP-2 analog in an auto-injector with potential for convenient weekly administration, which has been granted orphan status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“We congratulate Zealand Pharma on initiating this important study and together, we have enrolled patients in a number of countries already,” said Khan. “We are hopeful that the results from this study will lead to better and much-needed treatment options for people with SBS.”¹

About Pharm-Olam

Pharm-Olam is Helping Create a Healthier World as a global, midsized CRO that offers flexible, innovative and highly personalized clinical solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science companies. Our team is well-known for producing quality results with reduced risk, costs and timelines in challenging international trials. Learn more about our full-service solutions, data protection services and expertise in oncology, infectious diseases and vaccines, rare and orphan diseases, pediatrics and general medicine at pharm-olam.com.  

About Zealand Pharma A/S

Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq Copenhagen and New York: ZEAL) ("Zealand") is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of innovative peptide-based medicines. More than 10 drug candidates invented by Zealand have advanced into clinical development, of which two have reached the market. Zealand’s current pipeline of internal product candidates focus on specialty gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases. Zealand’s portfolio also includes two clinical license collaborations with Boehringer Ingelheim.

Zealand Pharma is based in Copenhagen (Glostrup), Denmark. For further information about the company's business and activities, please visit www.zealandpharma.com or follow Zealand Pharma on LinkedIn or Twitter @ZealandPharma.  

¹Zealand Pharma. Zealand News. www.zealandpharma.com/zealand-news . Accessed Jan. 31, 2019.