RARE Daily

Seelos Stops Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 Study Enrollment Due to Financial Considerations

March 30, 2023

Rare Daily Staff

Seelos Therapeutics, a company focused on therapeutics for rare central nervous system disorders, said in a statement that is temporarily pausing additional enrollment of patients in the SLS-005-302 study in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.

The temporary pause is a result of a business decision due to financial considerations, and is not based on any data related to safety or therapeutic effects. Patients already enrolled will continue in the study and data will continue to be collected in order to make decisions for resuming enrollment in the future.

Spinocerebellar ataxia 3 (SCA3), also known as Machado-Joseph disease) is a rare, inherited form of ataxia caused by a genetic change in the ATXN3 gene. Signs and symptoms may begin between childhood and late adulthood and can vary greatly. Symptoms may include slowly progressive clumsiness in the arms and legs; a manner of walking that may be mistaken for drunkenness; difficulty speaking and swallowing; impaired eye movements or vision; and lower limb spasticity. Some people with SCA3 develop dystonia or symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s disease; twitching of the face or tongue; nerve damage; or problems with urination and the autonomic nervous system.

Seelos will focus the majority of its resources on the ongoing registration directed study of its intranasal racemic ketamine candidate SLS-002 for Acute Suicidal Ideation and Behavior in patients with Major Depressive Disorder and the fully enrolled phase 2/3 study of SLS-005 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company expects a data readout from the SLS-002 study in the third quarter of 2023 and a data readout from the SLS-005 study in ALS in late 2023.

“Our corporate structure and outsourced model allows us to be nimble and make these strategic decisions, enabling us to extend our cash runway through data readout,” said Raj Mehra, chairman and CEO of Seelos.

 

Stay Connected

Sign up for updates straight to your inbox.

FacebookTwitterInstagramYoutube