SMT D002 is a medication which has potential for use as an acne treatment. In pill form it has reportedly proved very successful at reducing sebum production during clinical trials carried out by UK-based drug discovery company Summit Corporation PLC (AIM: SUMM). It is claimed to be safer than isotretinoin, which is currently the only medication accepted by the medical profession as being an effective sebosuppressive.
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It has been referred to as a 'cure for acne' by the press. In fact it could not accurately be referred to as a cure, but at best an effective preventive treatment.
Origin
SMT D002 is a codename for an existing drug, used to treat a condition other than acne. For commercial reasons, Summit will not reveal its name or what it is currently used for. However, it is highly suspected that the drug is oxybutynin chloride, due to the discovery of US Pat. 12303680 - Filed Jun 7, 2007 - SUMMIT (CAMBRIDGE) LIMITED. Oxybutynin chloride is used to treat overactive bladder and urinary conditions. Additional evidence found at www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/cd-939533.pdf.
Clinical trials
Two successful Phase I trials have been reported by Summit PLC. The first trial was described as a double-blind Phase I study in healthy volunteers using a single oral dose that showed up to a 70% reduction in sebum secretion. Prior to starting the second trial, Summit's director of clinical development Nigel Blackburn was quoted as saying:
and
The second study was conducted using 18 healthy volunteers and examined the effect of repeat oral doses of SMT D002 over a four-day period. The key findings of the trial were reported as follows:
Future development
Summit PLC has indicated no plans to bring the pill form of SMT D002 to market, but has stated an intention to develop a topical formulation of the drug. The reason for developing a topical formulation has been given by Summit as 'to improve the way [it] is administered' and 'because it [is] likely to work more quickly'.
In May 2009 it was reported that, as part of a restructuring programme, a cross-licence agreement had been made with Orient Pharma Ltd:
A press release dated May 2010 implies that Summit PLC is no longer committing significant resources to SMT D002:
However, Summit seems to have passed the drug onto AndroScience Corporation, who have just successfully completed double-blind clinical trials.