Drug shows promise for new uses, firm says

EPIX Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, today said there were positive results in cognitive development recorded from early-stage clinical trials of PRX-07034, its anti-obesity drug, which is being tested for possible use against Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.

The early tests were for ascending doses and included 33 subjects in an in-patient setting. Subjects tolerated the doses and ‘‘no serious adverse events were reported,’’ according to a news release.

The results were announced at a presentation by Kimberley S. Gannon, senior director of biology for EPIX, at a conference on Alzheimer’s in the Dominican Republic.
(By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe staff)