RiboTargets licenses oncology pain product
15 October 2002
RiboTargets, the structure-based drug discovery company that develops novel cancer and anti-bacterial therapeutics, announced today that it has entered into a worldwide license agreement with Professor Colin Goodchild, Dr Ray Nadeson and Monash University, Australia to develop Alphadolone and related neurosteroids for the treatment of pain, with particular emphasis on pain management in cancer patients.
Alphadolone is currently in pre-clinical development but has previously completed a pilot study in post-operative pain under an Australian DDX in which encouraging data were collected. The product is expected to enter Phase I clinical trials in early 2003. RiboTargets will be responsible for the development and commercialisation of the product. No financial details were disclosed.
The careful management of pain can dramatically improve the quality of life for patients, in particular cancer patients and others suffering from progressive illness. Alphadolone, a neurosteroid, can be administered orally and acts at spinal GABAA receptors, resulting in analgesia (pain relief). It can also increase the analgesic action of morphine, which is commonly used to treat severe pain. However, on its own, Alphadolone represents a novel strategy for the management of pain, as it produces analgesia in the absence of sedation and is expected to be free of many of the dose-limiting side effects of opioids, such as morphine.
Prof Goodchild, head of the Department of Anaesthesia at Monash University said: "The academic department has taken this project as far as could be achieved within a University. The natural next step is to license out Alphadolone and we are confident that RiboTargets will progress the development of this new class of pain reliever as its first compound."
RiboTargets' CEO, Simon Sturge commented: "There is a major clinical need for new and innovative products for pain relief that can improve quality of life, in particular for cancer patients. Alphadolone has significant potential in this regard due to its benefits over opoids."
He added, "For RiboTargets, the development of Alphadolone marks a major transition for the Company - moving it from a pure research base to become a research and development company. The development of this product will spearhead the way forward for other compounds to emerge from RiboTargets' internal pipeline."
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