GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it is halting all further development of its proprietary formulation of resveratrol known as SRT501.

A key factor in this decision, according to the company, was that it no longer feels the drug offers an adequate efficacy / safety trade-off as a potential treatment for multiple myeloma.

Earlier this year, Glaxo suspended its Phase 2 trial of SRT501 in multiple myeloma because several patients in the trial developed kidney failure.

At the time, it was unclear if the kidney failure cases were due …

Representatives from Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, developer of a proprietary formulation of resveratrol called SRT501, confirmed yesterday that a clinical trial of the drug in multiple myeloma patients was suspended because several patients developed kidney failure.  The Myeloma Beacon reported the trial's suspension in an article earlier this week.

Sirtris representatives also have told the Beacon that all patients who experienced kidney failure during the trial were being treated with only SRT501 when their kidney problems developed.

However, it is still uncertain whether the kidney failures were simply a manifestation of the underlying …

A clinical trial of a proprietary form of resveratrol has been suspended due to safety concerns.  The resveratrol-based drug, SRT501, was being studied in a Phase 2 trial with multiple myeloma patients.  Phase 2 trials usually are the first clinical trials that look in detail at a drug’s potential effectiveness.

SRT501, which is not yet approved by the Food & Drug Administration, is being developed by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, biotech company.  Sirtris was founded in 2004 and acquired in 2008 by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.

Sirtris describes SRT501 as …