Xiaflex Effective in Nonsurgically Treating MP/PIP Joints

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AUXL), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, Malvern. Pa., has announced that The Journal of Hand Surgery (JHS) has published in its December online edition the company's pivotal CORD II phase III clinical trial of XIAFLEX[R] (collagenase clostridium histolyticum), a novel, first-in-class biologic for the nonsurgical treatment of adult Dupuytren's contracture patients with a palpable cord. The CORD II study is the second pivotal clinical trial examining the treatment of Dupuytren's contracture with XIAFLEX. Treatment with XIAFLEX significantly reduced the angle of contracture for patients with Dupuytren's contracture in both their metacarpophalangeal (MP) and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints, with clinically meaningful responses in both less severe and more severe contractures. "The results for both MP and PIP joints that were treated with XIAFLEX are compelling and compare favorably to surgery from both an efficacy and safety point of view," said Dr. David Gilpin, study investigator and surgeon at the Brisbane Hand and Upper Limb Clinic. "As noted in the publication, the investigators believe that the limited long-term efficacy and the potential for numerous complications associated with percutaneous needle aponeurotomy, and the serious complications and prolonged recovery associated with surgery, underscore the need for a simpler, less-invasive treatment option that is effective, safe and causes minimal convalescence and rehabilitation. I believe that XIAFLEX, as a new non-surgical treatment, addresses these needs and could become the standard of care for Dupuytren's contracture."