Centocor Temporarily Suspends Golimumab Arthritis Drug Trials

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Centocor Temporarily Suspends Arthritis Drug Trials

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Centocor Inc., a Horsham-based subsidiary of & , said today

it has temporarily suspended trials of an experimental arthritis compound

because of problems distributing it to test sites.

Centocor is hoping the compound, known generically as golimumab, will build

on its success with Remicade, its top seller that is approved for use

against rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, psoriatic arthritis,

ulcerative colitis and other conditions.

Parks, a Centocor spokesman, said the company took the action after

learning that its distributor was unable to deliver the drug to about 15

percent of locations where physicians were administering it to trial

subjects.

Parks emphasized there was no problems with the compound itself or with its

production. He called it a " temporary " distribution problem that Centocor

expected to have no impact on its development timetable.

The problem was discovered within the past month and Centocor only notified

the physicians involved, Parks said.

Centocor has been aiming at finishing the phase III trials and - if the

compound is proven effective - asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

for a marketing license by 2009 or 2010, Parks said.

Remicade's patent-protected sales life ends in 2016, Parks said. It had

sales of $3.13 billion last year.

In addition to golimumab, Centocor has at least one other compound in

development aimed at the treatment of psoriasis, Parks said.