Isis Pharma stock falls after data from Phase II study of ISIS-PTP1B Rx

US drugmaker Isis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ISIS) has announced top-line results from a Phase II study of ISIS-PTP1BRx in patients with type 2 diabetes. The results show that the drug took longer than expected to work. The company's stock fell nearly 10% on Tuesday.

Deutsche Bank's Alethia Young, quoted by Reuters, said the data looked less robust than some commonly prescribed treatments and Isis's own experimental glucagon receptor, ISIS-GCGR.

The Phase II study of ISIS-PTP-1BRx was a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 92 patients with type 2 diabetes who had uncontrolled blood sugar despite treatment with stable metformin with or without sulfonylurea therapy. Patients received 200mg of ISIS-PTP1BRx or placebo for 26 weeks added to their stable doses of their background therapies. Patients treated with ISIS-PTP1BRx achieved statistically significant reductions in body weight and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). In patients treated with ISIS-PTP1BRx, a mean reduction in HbA1c of 0.7% points from baseline was achieved at 36 weeks, compared to a mean reduction of 0.2 percentage points for placebo-treated patients (p=0.03). Patients treated with ISIS-PTP1BRx also experienced a mean reduction in body weight from baseline at 36 weeks (p=0.01).