Zealand doses the first patients with ZP1848 for short bowel syndrome, advancing the second of its proprietary specialty medicines into Phase II development in 2016

- ZP1848 is a long-acting GLP-2 analogue having shown attractive potential as a new therapy in short bowel syndrome, a specialty disease of high unmet medical needs   

- Earlier in February, Zealand also advanced its glucagon analogue, ZP4207 for severe hypoglycemia in diabetes, into Phase II

- These recent advancements support Zealand's strategic focus on growing its proprietary pipeline of peptide specialty medicines, of which now three are in Phase II development

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Feb. 15, 2016 -- Zealand informs that it has successfully dosed the first patients in a clinical Phase II Proof-of-Concept trial with ZP1848 for the treatment of short bowel syndrome (SBS). SBS is a serious condition of intestinal function failure following surgical removal of large parts of the intestines due to cancer, ischemia or Crohn's disease. ZP1848 is a novel, long-acting GLP-2 analogue with a unique stability profile in liquid formulation, which is invented and fully owned by Zealand.

GLP-2 based therapy is an established concept in the treatment of SBS, and in preclinical studies, ZP1848 has shown promising effects over existing treatment. The start of patient in the Phase II trial is an important step in the further development of ZP1848 in that the trial is intended to demonstrate the clinical relevance and profile of the product as a new and better treatment option.