SAN DIEGO, April 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) informed the company yesterday that a clinical hold has been placed on patient enrollment and dosing of PEGPH20 in an ongoing Phase 2 trial (Study 202) evaluating PEGPH20 in patients with pancreatic cancer. According to the FDA, this action was being taken in view of the company's recent decision to temporarily halt enrollment and dosing of PEGPH20 in the Phase 2 trial.
"As announced earlier, we are gathering information relevant to assessing the possible difference in the thromboembolic event rate between the patients treated with PEGPH20 versus the patients treated without PEGPH20 in the trial. We will be providing this information to the Data Monitoring Committee and the FDA in parallel so they can complete their respective assessments," stated Dr. Helen Torley, President and CEO. "Pancreatic cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of any cancer. We remain committed to evaluating PEGPH20 as a possible therapy to address this devastating disease."
About Halozyme
Halozyme Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative products that advance patient care. With a diversified portfolio of enzymes that target the extracellular matrix, the Company's research focuses primarily on a family of human enzymes, known as hyaluronidases, which increase the dispersion and absorption of biologics, drugs and fluids. Halozyme's pipeline addresses therapeutic areas, including oncology, diabetes and dermatology that have significant unmet medical need today. The Company markets Hylenex® recombinant (hyaluronidase human injection) and has partnerships with Roche, Pfizer and Baxter. Halozyme is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information on how we are innovating, please visit our corporate website at www.halozyme.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
In addition to historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements (including, without limitation, statements concerning future actions relating to the development of PEGPH20 and the possibility that PEGPH20 may be used to address pancreatic cancer) that involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified through use of the words "believe," "enable," "may," "will," "could," "intends," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan," "predict," "probable," "potential," "possible," "should," "continue," and other words of similar meaning. Actual results could differ materially from the expectations contained in forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including unexpected expenditures and costs, unexpected results or delays in development and regulatory review, regulatory approval requirements, unexpected adverse events and competitive conditions. These and other factors that may result in differences are discussed in greater detail in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2014.
Investor Contact:
Schond Greenway
Halozyme Therapeutics
858-704-8352
ir@halozyme.com
Media Contact:
Denise Powell
510-703-9491
dpowell@brewlife.com
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SOURCE Halozyme Therapeutics