Zealand Pharma A/S said the first phase 3 study of dasiglucagon to treat low blood sugar met its main and secondary goals.

The primary and key secondary objectives in the trial were to evaluate the risk of treatment-induced and treatment-boosted anti-drug antibodies after three repeat doses of dasiglucagon or Novo Nordisk A/S' GlucaGen.

No treatment-induced or treatment-boosted anti-drug antibodies were detected in the trial.

The study also assessed the drug's safety and tolerability. Dasiglucagon was compared to native glucagon powder that needs to be reconstituted in an aqueous buffer before being injected.

Additional results of the trial will be available in the second quarter of 2018, with the results of a second ongoing efficacy phase 3 study expected in the second half of 2018.

The Danish biotechnology is developing dasiglucagon as a rescue treatment for severe hypoglycemia, to treat congenital hyperinsulinism or abnormally high levels of insulin and as a dual-hormone artificial pancreas for diabetes treatment.