Ongar (UK) and Lund (Sweden) – 8 October, 2012. UK-based Mitopharm Limited, a subsidiary of Selcia Holdings Limited, and Swedish drug development company NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB have developed three lead drug candidates capable of increasing mitochondrial energy production. The potential clinical applications of these novel compounds range over a variety of pathological conditions characterized by deficient energy production addressing significant markets in mitochondrial medicine.
Mitochondria are well known as the energy-producing powerhouses of all cells and are critical for optimal cellular function and survival, as well as initiating cell death. Impaired cellular energy levels are a primary result of mitochondrial dysfunction, which has a number of causes ranging from free radical damage to genetic mutations.
The breakthrough is the culmination of a 12 month development program between the two companies which has combined Selcia’s leading expertise in medicinal and analytical chemistry and NeuroVive’s advanced research and development programs in mitochondrial energy production.
Simon Saxby, CEO of Selcia, commented on the collaboration: “The development of novel mitochondrial energy regulators is indeed a breakthrough in the collaboration with NeuroVive. Our combined resources have generated molecules that have the potential to become the solution to many clinical conditions where patients present with deficient energy production”.
Mikael Brönnegård, CEO of NeuroVive Pharmaceutical, said: “With the development of novel mitochondrial energy regulators we now have the potential to add another valuable product to our portfolio and to capitalize on one of the many commercial opportunities associated with our leading expertise in mitochondrial research. Together with Mitopharm we will define go-to-market strategies for orphan drug indications as well as for medical conditions with broader application”.
NeuroVive´s CSO Eskil Elmér, added: “The effectiveness of our joint collaboration is very rewarding and the specialized competences of each team have been a critical factor in the rapid development from concept to lead compounds of this new class of pharmaceutical agents. We have confirmed specific mitochondrial activity of the compounds in our human cellular assay and we are very excited about the development steps that lie ahead. The compounds that increase the energy output from mitochondria could be of substantial clinical importance to patients with certain genetic mutations affecting the cellular production of energy. Further, they could potentially also be of value in disorders where secondary mitochondrial dysfunction or inhibition has been suggested as part of the pathogenesis, and in a broad range of acute conditions where the normal cellular capacity to produce energy is insufficient”.
About Selcia Holdings
Selcia Limited (www.selcia.com), a subsidiary of Selcia Holdings Limited, headquartered in Ongar, Essex, UK and with a branch in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, operates two divisions: Selcia Discovery and Selcia Radiochemistry. Whilst Radiochemistry specializes in 14C GMP radioabelling, Selcia Discovery provides integrated small molecule drug discovery to pharmaceutical and biotech clients. Besides general medicinal chemistry and biology capabilities applicable across all target classes, Selcia Discovery has a particular strength in three unique and highly synergistic technologies: (1) medicinal chemistry on complex natural products, (2) capillary electrophoresis -based fragment and natural product screening, (3) peptidyl-prolyl isomerase targets (cyclophilins, FKBPs, Pin1, together called PPIases). Whilst relatively neglected by pharmaceutical companies in the past, understanding of the involvement of PPIases in many diseases is currently emerging. All PPIase inhibitors presently in clinical use or in development are natural products, natural product derivatives or have structures inspired by natural products. The combination of these technologies has enabled Selcia to deliver several clinical PPIase inhibitors to clients, but has also generated IP for Selcia, which was recently demerged into a new company, Mitopharm Ltd. Mitopharm Limited, also a subsidiary of Selcia Holdings Ltd., focuses on treatment of diseases related to mitochondrial dysfunction and treatments associated with cyclophilin inhibition through the generation of novel compounds derived from natural products by Selcia Ltd. The Mitopharm compounds are made available to pharma partners for licencing and / or collaborative development.
Key Contact: Simon Bury
Email: contact@selcia.com
Phone No: +44 (0) 1277 367000
About NeuroVive Pharmaceutical
NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB (www.neurovive.com) is a Swedish drug development company whose primary mission is to develop drugs for the treatment of acute brain injury, reperfusion injury in myocardial infarction and other acute injuries where mitochondrial energy production is critical for clinical outcome. The research and development program focuses on developing new variants of cyclophilin inhibitors for neuro- and cardioprotection and studying ways of transporting these drugs across the blood-brain barrier to the central nervous system.
NeuroVive´s shares are listed on the Swedish trading platform AktieTorget (www.aktietorget.se). The AktieTorget market is focused on emerging, entrepreneurial businesses through an electronic trading system supplied by the OMX Nordic stock exchange in Stockholm, Sweden.
Key Contact: Mikael Brönnegård
Email: info@neurovive.com
Phone No: +46 (0) 70 299 62 64