A randomised placebo-controlled multicentre trial of intravenous semapimod HCl for moderate to severe Crohn’s disease
Dotan I, Rachmilewitz D, Schreiber S et al.
Semapimod HCl is a synthetic, low molecular weight antagonist of mitogen-activated-protein (MAP) kinase that has been shown in vitro to inhibit the production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) by macrophages (J Exp Med 1996;83:927–36, J Infect Dis 1997;176:1303–12). A pilot study of semapimod in patients with Crohn’s disease showed a promising response (Gastroenterology 2002;122:7–14), and thus the current study, which details a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease, was initiated.