TorreyPines says migraine drug promising at 40 mg dose

Oct 22 (Reuters) - TorreyPines Therapeutics Inc TPTX.O said a mid-stage trial of the company's drug candidate met its main goal of relieving migraine pain, when given at a 40 mg dose.

The trial enrolled 306 patients who were assigned to one of four groups that received 40 mg, 70 mg or 100 mg doses of the drug, tezampanel, or a dummy drug -- also called a placebo.

Comparisons across these arms revealed that the drug relieved headache significantly at the 40 mg dose, but not at the 70 mg and 100 mg doses, when compared to the placebo, the La Jolla, California-based company said.

The main purpose of the trial, according to the company, was to identify a dose that could be used in the late-stage -- also called Phase III -- development of the drug in 2008.

TorreyPines said while all three doses were tolerated well by patients, the 40 mg arm had the least side effects, which included dry mouth, sleepiness, dizziness, injection-site burning and injection-site pain.

These side effects were observed with the dummy drug also.

The company is also planning to develop an oral version of this drug.

Shares of the company closed at $5.73 Friday on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Varsha Tickoo in Bangalore)