Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc (SGYP) Targets Root Cause Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Synergy Has Very Little Competition

Back in August 2012, FDA approved Linzess (linaclotide) to treat chronic idiopathic constipation among adults. The drug is manufactured by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) and should be taken once daily on an empty stomach. The drug comes with a warning that it should be not be used among patients who are 16 years of age or younger. Linzess may cause serious side effects like diarrhea, severe gastritis and other GI related symptoms.

In February 2012, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP) announced its Phase 3 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its IBS drug Rifaximin. The semisynthetic antibiotic has poor oral bioavailability, which means that it won’t be absorbed into the blood stream easily if taken orally. It is sometimes used to alleviate diarrhea but FDA has not approved it for IBS treatment.

AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN) and Nektar Therepeutics may have added data to a Phase III trial of constipation drug naloxegol, effectively failing the trial. The big pharma may have to review its data again in order to answer some questions that have been bothering both the medical and investment communities.

A group of researchers at the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts studied the efficacy of duloxetine (Cymbalta), sold by Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY), for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The results seemed to be encouraging but it comes with a number of side effects such as nausea, sexual dysfunction, insomnia, and dizziness. Being an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), Cymbalta can cause significant sexual difficulties.

Conclusion

Synergy is targeting unmet needs of an entire subsection of population that is suffering from IBS, constipation and ulcerative colitis. The drug is expected to treat the root cause of gastrointestinal symptoms as it is a synthetic form of a certain peptide that is often deficient among IBS and other chronic GI disorder patients. If the drug clears all the trials successfully, Synergy stands to be one of the few pharmaceutical companies that can boast of treating IBS. This is one stock that you should closely observe to check what the future of SP-333 is going to be.

The article SP-333 Targets Root Cause Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Jordo Bivona.

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