Merrion Pharmaceuticals Plc : Novo Nordisk A/S Successfully Completes Phase I Trial of its Proprietary Oral Insulin (NN1956) using Merrion Pharmaceuticals' GIPET® Technology.

4th March 2014

Novo Nordisk A/S Successfully Completes Phase I Trial of its Proprietary Oral Insulin (NN1956) using
Merrion Pharmaceuticals' GIPET® Technology.
Merrion Pharmaceuticals plc (ESM: MERR), today announces that its partner, Novo Nordisk, successfully completed a single dose Phase I trial with a novel oral insulin (NN1956). Merrion's GIPET Technology was used in the formulation of NN1956. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (exposure of drug) and pharmacodynamics (effect on blood glucose levels) of NN1956.
Under the terms of the 2008 license agreement with Novo Nordisk, Merrion receives payments on the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as royalties on sales.
Merrion's CEO, Dr. John Fox said "This is the successful completion of another step towards improving the management options for the large patient population who suffer from diabetes. Merrion continues to be encouraged by the ongoing commitment of Novo Nordisk to the utilisation of Merrion's GIPET technology in their objective to bring an oral insulin tablet to the market. The achievement of this milestone is further evidence of the utility of Merrion's GIPET Technology in facilitating the oral delivery of drugs that are otherwise poorly absorbed and supports our continuing activity to exploit our proprietary technology base."

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