London, UK – 23 November 2020. Actimed Therapeutics, the clinical stage company focused on bringing innovation to the treatment of muscle wasting disorders, with a focus on cachexia, today announces that it has licensed additional European patent rights to S-oxprenolol in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité). This gives Actimed global rights in this indication. The licensing of this intellectual property covers patent rights in all major European markets including Germany, France, UK, Italy and Spain for the treatment of ALS.
ALS is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders characterized by progressive muscular paralysis reflecting degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. ALS is a disease of mature adults, with median age of onset of 55 years and its frequency increases with age. Half of patients die within three years of the first clinical manifestation of the condition. There is currently no cure for ALS, and the efficacy of current treatment options remains limited.
In pre-clinical work, treatment of ALS-mice with S-oxprenolol was shown to promote a prolongation of survival. Furthermore, muscle wasting, loss of lean body mass, loss of daily fat mass and overall body mass lost were reduced. Moreover, S-oxprenolol treated ALS-mice survived significantly longer than those given higher dosed ALS-compound Riluzole, one of only two drugs currently approved to treat ALS.
Robin Bhattacherjee, Actimed CEO, commented “S-oxprenolol is an S-enantiomer enriched beta blocker which has shown promising early data in animal models of ALS and cachexia, and we are delighted to sign this additional licensing agreement with Charité. This now gives us global rights to S-oxprenolol in both potential indications. This extensive IP position will significantly enhance our options to develop this molecule in cachexia and now ALS, including potential licensing agreements with partners”.
Dr Bettina Büttner, Technology Manager at BIH Innovations, the joint technology transfer office of Charité and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), said “We are very pleased to conclude this licensing deal with Actimed. Given the world-leading expertise in muscle wasting disorders available to the company, we believe it is an ideal partner to further the development of S-oxprenolol in ALS, where there remains a high unmet medical need for novel drug candidates to improve survival and reduce wasting of muscle and body weight.”