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Pharmaceutical company Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) today announced positive results from the Phase 1 clinical trial for the first of its Lysyl Oxidase Like 2 (LOXL2) inhibitor compounds being developed to treat fibrotic diseases such as Non‐Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).

The double-blind placebo controlled study consisted of two stages. The first single ascending dose stage was conducted in 48 healthy subjects divided into six groups with each taking a single dose ranging from 10mg to 400mg or placebo. The second multiple ascending dose stage was conducted in 24 healthy subjects divided into three groups which each received a single daily dose ranging from 100mg to 400mg or placebo for 14 days.

The excellent drug like properties demonstrated in earlier pre-clinical testing were confirmed. There were no adverse safety findings in either the first or second stages of the study and the pharmacokinetic profile showed the expected dose related increases in exposure.

In addition to studying the safety and pharmacokinetic profile, the clinical trial also investigated the degree to which the drug can inhibit the target enzyme LOXL2 which is implicated in several different fibrotic diseases. Importantly, Pharmaxis has been able to demonstrate a large and highly significant inhibition of this enzyme in blood serum for a full 24 hours from a single dose and that daily dosing over a 14-day period now meets our targeted effect of greater than 80% inhibition at the 400mg dose.

Pharmaceutical research company Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) today announced that its non-executive director Dr Simon Buckingham will retire at the conclusion of his current term at the 2018 annual general meeting, to be held on 22 November 2018.

Pharmaxis today announced that an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held on 17 September 2018 elected biotech investment specialist Edward Rayner as a non-executive director of the Company. Mr Rayner is an investment director at Arix Bioscience plc (LSE: ARIX), a global healthcare and life science company supporting medical innovation, and led the Arix investment in the recent Pharmaxis share placement after which it holds 11 percent of the Company. Before joining Arix Bioscience at its inception, Mr Rayner spent 18 years as an equity analyst and portfolio manager in Europe and Australia. From 2004 to 2014, he was based in Sydney Australia, initially as head of research at Alliance Bernstein and then a senior portfolio manager at AMP Capital where he managed the growth equity portfolios and launched a small companies fund. As part of his responsibilities he focused on the healthcare sector.