Press Release.
Pheno Therapeutics granted clinical trial authorisation for lead multiple sclerosis therapeutic candidate PTD802
- UK MHRA grants CTA for first-in-human trial of a selective GPR17 antagonist
- Small molecule therapeutic designed for treatment of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis
Edinburgh, UK, 14 January 2025: Pheno Therapeutics Limited., a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of neurological diseases, announced today it has received clinical trial authorisation (CTA) from the UK’s MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) for its lead candidate, PTD802.
A selective GPR17 (G protein-coupled receptor 17) antagonist, PTD802 is a novel small molecule therapeutic designed to promote remyelination. Developed under an exclusive worldwide licence agreement with UCB, the programme is targeted toward treatment of neurological diseases with high unmet medical need, with an initial focus on multiple sclerosis (MS).
Demyelination in MS occurs when the immune system attacks and damages the myelin sheaths that insulate and nourish axons and nerve fibres in the central nervous system, leading to multifocal demyelination, axonal injury, and neurodegeneration. MS is a chronic disease caused by demyelination, often associated with a wide range of neurological symptoms, which despite the ability of existing drugs to control the inflammatory component of the disease, can progress to total physical and cognitive disability.
Professor Siddharthan Chandran, Co-Founder of Pheno Therapeutics, added: “Current treatments for MS focus mainly on the immune aspects of the disease, reducing severity and frequency of relapses. There is an urgent and unmet need for effective therapeutics that limit disability progression in MS, with remyelination offering a promising neuroprotective treatment. Whilst GPR17 antagonists have potential utility beyond MS, PTD802 is a hugely promising first-in-class oral remyelination agent which we believe will be the next step in devising combinatorial approaches to preventing MS progression.”
“We are delighted to have received approval from the MHRA to progress our PTD802 programme to a Phase 1 trial, a major milestone, marking our transition to a clinical stage organisation. As the first company to carry out dosing of a selective GPR17 antagonist in healthy humans we are leading the way in the race to develop GPR17-targeting remyelination therapeutics,” said Fraser Murray, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Pheno Therapeutics. “With this first-in-human programme we are moving closer to our goal of delivering transformational drugs for the treatment of neurological diseases associated with demyelination.”
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About Pheno Therapeutics
Pheno Therapeutics is a biotechnology company, backed by leading biotech investors Advent Life Sciences and LifeArc, focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics that boost the function of human oligodendrocytes and their natural ability to promote remyelination, for the treatment of neurological diseases with high unmet medical need such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Pheno combines world leading expertise in myelin biology, MS trials, patient selection and clinical cohorts. MS is a devastating chronic disease with significant individual and societal impact that often manifests in young adults and is associated with a wide range of neurological symptoms which can progress to total physical and cognitive disability. Pheno Therapeutics is seeking to promote remyelination and reverse the critical demyelination aspect of MS. MS demyelination occurs when the immune system attacks and damages the myelin sheaths that insulate and nourish axons and nerve fibres in the central nervous system, leading to multifocal demyelination, axonal injury and neurodegeneration.
For more information on Pheno Therapeutics, please visit https://www.phenotherapeutics.com.
