AlzeCure Pharma
6.10.2021 08:21:50 CEST | ACCESS Newswire | Press release
STOCKHOLM, SE / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2021 / AlzeCure Pharma (STO:ALZCUR)(FRA:AC6)
AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ) (FN STO:ALZCUR), a pharmaceutical company that develops a broad portfolio of candidate drugs for diseases affecting the central nervous system, with projects in both Alzheimer's disease and pain, today announced that the its novel clinical candidate drug ACD440 for peripheral neuropathic pain, is based on the seminal discoveries of TRPV1 by Prof. Julius, and for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine 2021.
David Julius, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Morris Herzstein Chair in Molecular Biology and Medicine at UC San Francisco, has been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His work has focused on how we can sense heat, cold, and chemical irritants, leading to new insights about the fundamental nature of pain and new targets for pain therapy. His fundamental research led to the identification and cloning of the specific protein responsible for the sensation of burning pain, TRPV1, in 1997.
ACD440 is a clinical-stage TRPV1 antagonist that is being developed as a new topical, local treatment for neuropathic pain. The candidate drug, which was incorporated via an important strategic in-licensing arrangement carried out in January 2020, has its origins in Big Pharma and is based on strong scientific grounds. The compound is being developed as a topical gel for local use, thereby keeping the systemic exposure very low, while the local concentration of the compound can be kept high for maximum analgesic effect.
"It is fantastic news that these seminal findings by professor Julius receive the appropriate attention. The discovery of TRPV1 and its link to pain perception is something that we have made use of in our ACD440 program," said Johan Sandin, CSO at AlzeCure.
In December 2020, AlzeCure initiated a phase Ib clinical trial with ACD440 to assess both tolerability and early signals of efficacy. The positive study results were communicated according to plan in April 2021. AlzeCure is currently preparing for a phase II study with the candidate drug.
"About 50 percent of patients do not respond to current first-line treatment and there is a need to identify analgesics with improved efficacy as well as with a better risk-benefit ratio, said Martin Jönsson, CEO at AlzeCure. A potent topical compound acting by inhibiting the TRPV1 channel would be a novel non-opioid mechanism to obtain an analgesic effect without the associated side-effects observed with the existing therapies."
TRPV1 are specialized cation channels, primarily expressed in sensory neurons. TRPV1 are activated by e.g. heat, acidic pH and capsaicin in "hot" peppers, and play a crucial role in heat sensation and nociception. They are sensitized from noxious stimuli, leading to inflammatory conditions and pain. In chronic pain states, TRPV1 are up-regulated on neurons, have reduced activation thresholds, and cause an increased perception of pain. Interestingly, it is also upregulated in the skin of individuals with many types of neuropathic pain.
"Neuropathic pain is an area with major medical need and associated with impaired quality of life and current treatments rarely provide adequate pain relief," said Märta Segerdahl, CMO at AlzeCure. "In all, an estimated 7-8 percent of the adult population worldwide suffers from pain with neuropathic elements."
For more information, please contact
Martin Jönsson, CEO
Tel: +46 707 86 94 43
martin.jonsson@alzecurepharma.com
About AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ)
AlzeCure® is a Swedish pharmaceutical company that develops new innovative drug therapies for the treatment of severe diseases and conditions that affect the central nervous system, such as Alzheimer's disease and pain - indications for which currently available treatment is very limited. The company is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market and is developing several parallel drug candidates based on three research platforms: NeuroRestore®, Alzstatin® and Painless.
NeuroRestore consists of two symptomatic drug candidates where the unique mechanism of action allows for multiple indications, including Alzheimer's disease, as well as cognitive disorders associated with traumatic brain injury, sleep apnea and Parkinson's disease. The Alzstatin platform focuses on developing disease-modifying and preventive drug candidates for early treatment of Alzheimer's disease and comprises two drug candidates. Painless is the company's research platform in the field of pain and contains two projects: ACD440, which is a drug candidate in the clinical development phase for the treatment of neuropathic pain, and TrkA-NAM, which targets severe pain in conditions such as osteoarthritis. AlzeCure aims to pursue its own projects through preclinical research and development to an early clinical phase, and is continually working on business development to find suitable outlicensing solutions with other pharmaceutical companies.
FNCA Sweden AB, +46(0)8 528 00 399 info@fnca.se, is the company's Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit www.alzecurepharma.se.
About Neuropathic pain
Neuropathic pain affects approximately 7-8 percent of the total adult population. Some patients, with indications such as diabetes and HIV, are affected to a greater extent, where approximately 25 and 35 percent respectively of the patients experience neuropathic pain.
Peripheral neuropathic pain is the result of various types of damage to the nerve fibers, such as toxic, traumatic or nerve compression injuries as well a metabolic and infectious diseases. Common symptoms are painful tingling that can be described as "pins and needles", or choking or burning pain, as well as the feeling of getting an electric shock. Patients may also experience allodynia (pain caused by a stimulus that usually does not cause pain) or hyperalgesia (increased pain from a stimulus that normally provokes pain).
The market for neuropathic pain is characterized by a major medical need in all indications and in all major markets, where only about 50 percent of patients respond to existing treatment.
The patient population will grow, among other things, due to an aging population and increased number of long-term cancer survivors and increasing prevlance of type-2 diabetes.
The global market for neuropathic pain was valued at $11 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $25 billion by 2027.
Image Attachments
Martin Jönsson CEO And Johan Sandin CSO AlzeCure Pharma
Attachments
AlzeCure Pharma develops novel analgesic drug based on Nobel prize-winning discoveries
SOURCE: AlzeCure Pharma
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/666981/AlzeCure-Pharma-Develops-Novel-Analgesic-Drug-Based-on-Nobel-Prize-Winning-Discoveries
To view this piece of content from www.accesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
About ACCESS Newswire
Subscribe to releases from ACCESS Newswire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from ACCESS Newswire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from ACCESS Newswire
Surmodics Launches MetalPro(TM) Direct-to-Metal Hydrophilic Coatings for Medical Devices30.10.2026 14:37:00 CET | Press release
HORSHAM, PA / ACCESS Newswire / October 30, 2026 / Surmodics Inc., a leading provider of surface technologies and performance coatings for the medical device industry, today announced at the opening of the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference in San Diego the launch of MetalPro™ direct-to-metal UV cure hydrophilic coatings engineered to bond directly to metal surfaces without primers or tie-layers. By eliminating additional tie-layers, MetalPro simplifies coating applications, reduces process complexity and has the potential to lower overall coating costs. The direct-to-metal approach also provides manufacturers with greater design flexibility, particularly for complex catheter systems where coating thickness and mechanical performance are important considerations. "Medical device engineers are continually challenged to improve device performance while simplifying manufacturing and managing costs," said Bob Hergenrother, PhD, Vice President of R&D and Innovation a
Chervon Launches Advanced Momentum Program (AMP) to Hire & Develop the Next Generation of Leaders30.10.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
NAPERVILLE, IL / ACCESS Newswire / October 30, 2026 / Chervon launches Advanced Momentum Program (AMP), reporting to Matt DeFeo, Senior Vice President, Sales, Training, and Recruiting. Chervon will be hiring hundreds of college graduates in the months and years ahead to deliver the company's aggressive growth strategy. The new AMP initiative was developed to catalyze Chervon's recruiting, training, development, promoting, and mentoring of the very best high-potential college grads. AMP will develop the next generation of Chervon leaders. The program features a comprehensive product, skills, and career development training system. AMP will recruit, develop and promote high-potential new hires into a broad range of positions including store coverage, end-user marketing, sales, product management, e-commerce/digital marketing, channel management, commercialization, service, engineering, supply chain, operations, and finance. Ultimately AMP will produce a stream of outstanding senior execu
Aehr Test Systems Appoints Former Meta Infrastructure Executive Vijay Rao to Board of Directors29.10.2026 12:30:00 CET | Press release
FREMONT, CA / ACCESS Newswire / October 29, 2026 / Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR), a leading provider of test and burn-in solutions for semiconductor devices used in artificial intelligence (AI), silicon photonics, data center, automotive, and industrial applications, today announced the appointment of Vijay Rao to its Board of Directors, effective October 28, 2026. Rao brings 30 years of technology industry experience, including more than 13 years at Meta, where he most recently served as Vice President of Infrastructure. His experience spans infrastructure strategy, AI computing, and semiconductor technologies in hyperscale, enterprise, and startup environments. "Vijay brings deep expertise in infrastructure requirements of hyperscale data centers, including the integration of AI accelerators, high-performance memory, and optical networking," said Gayn Erickson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aehr Test Systems. "He understands firsthand how semiconductor quality and reliab
U.S. Polo Assn. Executes Early on Europe's Digital Product Passport Mandate29.10.2026 12:00:00 CET | Press release
WEST PALM BEACH, FL / ACCESS Newswire / October 29, 2026 / U.S. Polo Assn.®, the official sports brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), with a multi-billion-dollar global footprint and distribution in more than 190 countries through some 1,200 U.S. Polo Assn. mono-brand retail stores, numerous branded websites and thousands of other points of distribution worldwide, today announced the brand's early activation of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) across product categories sold into the European Union (EU). As Europe prepares to launch the Digital Product Passport Registry, U.S. Polo Assn. has taken a proactive approach by preparing to deploy DPPs across all products sold into the EU well ahead of the mandatory compliance deadline expected in 2028 or 2029. The global sports brand has already mapped product information for millions of products, creating a scalable framework that will enhance product transparency and support compliance readiness throughout its European operati
LiberNovo Previews Treat Yourself Halloween Flash Sale Across Europe29.10.2026 08:40:00 CET | Press release
HONG KONG, HK / ACCESS Newswire / October 29, 2026 / LiberNovo is bringing Halloween treats to the desk with its Treat Yourself Halloween Flash Sale, opening October 29 across the European Union and United Kingdom. The event pairs savings of up to 40% on selected Maxis and LiberNovo Omni Pro configurations with limited seasonal gifts for qualifying early shoppers. Spooky extras for your desk Limited Halloween-themed gift packs are available to the first 300 eligible customers in the European Union and the first 100 in the United Kingdom, on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Gift contents, qualifying purchases and availability follow the terms on each regional campaign page. More room for Big and Tall users Maxis is designed around larger frames, with a wider seat and 52 cm seat depth for greater thigh support and room to shift naturally. Maxis Manual provides adjustment by hand. Maxis Electric adds motorised lumbar adjustment and OmniStretch guided back stretching.
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom