5 January 2012 - ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ISTA) said on Wednesday that it has launched its Phase II clinical trial of BEPOSONE, a nasal spray combining bepotastine besilate with a steroid for the treatment of symptoms related to seasonal allergic rhinitis.

The randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-group environmental study is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the combination nasal spray, used twice daily, in patients suffering from allergic rhinitis caused by Mountain Cedar pollen.

ISTA plans to enrol some 600 patients in Texas who will be administered either the bepotastine besilate-steroid combination nasal spray, nasal spray containing only one of the active agents, or placebo nasal spray for two weeks.