Norgine’s Movicol outperforms newer therapy in comparative trial

Norgine has announced positive results from a controlled head-to-head study comparing its chronic constipation drug Movicol to a newer therapy.

The established product was assessed in comparison to the recently-approved alternative among 236 women suffering from constipation for at least six months and who were resistant to standard laxatives.

After four weeks, both patient groups experienced effective relief, but Movicol recipients benefited from a higher number of spontaneous complete bowel movements and a more pronounced reduction in colonic transit time.

Meanwhile, the safety and tolerability of both drugs was shown to be consistent with previously-reported findings.

Marc Halphen, vice-president and senior scientific officer at Norgine, said: "The results of this first comparative study reinforce that newer therapies should always be compared with existing therapies rather than placebo to assess their clinical relevance."

This comes after the company installed Peter Conway – formerly of Glaxo Wellcome, Wyeth and Grunenthal – as its new global market access director last month.