Allergan's trial drug for IBS-D shows positive results in late stage trials

Allergan (NYSE: AGN) on Thursday said The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published positive results from late stage trials of its Viberzi C IV (eluxadoline) to treat irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D).

The company said two Phase III trials showed significantly more patients treated with Viberzi experienced improvements in diarrhea and abdominal pain, as compared with placebo. IBS-D is a functional bowel disorder commonly characterized by chronic abdominal pain and frequent diarrhea, which affects approximately 15 million patients in the USA.

David Nicholson, president and executive vice president of global R&D at Allergan, said: "These significant Phase III results highlight the efficacy of Viberzi, demonstrating an exciting new treatment option that provides improvements for two of the most common symptoms of IBS-D, which patients have struggled to address. With so many Americans forced to deal with limited treatment options, Viberzi is an effective first-in-line therapy that is positioned to address a major unmet need."