Ritter Phamaceuticals Testing New LI Compound

Ritter Phamaceuticals is the firm founded by Andrew Ritter, who has been working to try to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of lactose Intolerance (LI) since he was a high prodigy in a science fair.

Most people here will remember him from Lactagen, a prebitiotic that worked for many and was loudly missed when it went off the market. (See Lactagen No More.)

 Even before that, Ritter had started the work to test a new compound, RP-G28. (See Lactagen Prepares to File for New Drug. Whether it should be referred to as a drug is a semantic technicality that is over my head: the point to take away is that it is undergoing formal clinical testing in order to get FDA approval.)

Drug testing is a long, involved, and expensive process. Progress is being made, though. Ritter just announced through a press release that RP-G28 made it through a second successful round of tests on people.

Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Nutrition Journal has published the results of its Phase 2 trial of RP-G28, a proprietary oligosaccharide under investigation as a potential treatment for lactose intolerance. The study manuscript entitled, “Improving lactose digestion and symptoms of lactose intolerance with a novel galacto-oligosaccharide (RP-G28): a randomized, double-blind clinical trial” is the first peer-reviewed presentation of the protocol, assessments and results which showed that RP-G28 dramatically reduced the pain and symptoms of lactose intolerant patients.

Publication of this study marks a major milestone in lactose intolerance research, as it is the first well-controlled Phase 2 study for a prescription drug candidate for patients with lactose intolerance (LI). With planning underway to begin advanced clinical trials later this year, RP-G28 may become the first approved medical therapy for LI.

“The Nutrition Journal publication validates the work that has been done by our team to provide a meaningful new therapeutic approach to managing lactose intolerance symptoms, and helping millions of lactose intolerant people worldwide,” said Andrew Ritter, president and CEO of Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “The data gleaned from this study and our extensive research into colonic adaptation as a means of treating gastrointestinal disorders are being incorporated into the design of an advanced clinical program for RP-G28,” he added.

Highlights
According to the publication’s results, a majority of the lactose intolerant patients who began the study with abdominal pain associated with dairy consumption reported no abdominal pain after taking RP-G28 and their symptom relief was sustained for at least one month thereafter, which is a statistically significant result. Likewise, the patients who received the study drug, compared to the ones who received placebo, were 6 times more likely to claim that, following treatment, they could consume dairy products free of lactose intolerance symptoms. See Nutrition Journal, December 13, 2013, Research section (http://www.nutritionj.com/content/12/1/160).

That link goes to the complete study, not just an abstract. A short article in more straightforward English can be found as a .pdf from the pages of the October 2013 FoodTechnology magazine by going to the link on this page. 

A marketable product, if it gets FDA approval, is still years away, although Ritter appears to be farther along in its testing than Lacto-Freedom. Good news about two major products, preliminary or not, is still good news.