August 20th, 2019 9:00 PM Easter Time
Chapel Hill, NC & Hangzhou, China— Path BioAnalytics Inc. (PBA), a precision medicine company focused on the discovery and development of new treatments for respiratory disease, today announced it has licensed rights to cavosonstat from Laurel Therapeutics, a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Hangzhou China. PBA will use its proprietary technology to identify subpopulations of patients in which the drug candidate is effective, and if successful, will file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to conduct clinical development. Under the terms of the license, PBA has exclusive rights outside Asia to develop cavosonstat for cystic fibrosis.
“At PBA, we have developed an innovative organoid platform using primary cells to support drug development for targeted patient populations. We are excited to be able to apply this technology to cavosonstat and advance it through our pipeline and into the clinic for cystic fibrosis,” said John Mellnik, Ph.D., CEO of PBA. “This program advances our strategy of developing novel candidates with proven clinical safety and identifying subpopulations in which they will be most effective. We believe that we have found an excellent partner in Laurel Therapeutics, a company that shares our focus on addressing the high burden of respiratory diseases world-wide.”
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a fatal genetic disease affecting more than 70,000 individuals world-wide. CF is caused by genetic mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, which encodes the CFTR protein. Over 2,000 mutations in the CFTR gene with varying degrees of clinical relevance have been identified. CF impacts multiple organ systems in the body; however, CF’s impact on the lungs, where it causes frequent lung infections and shortness of breath, is the primary driver of mortality. There is no cure for CF.
“We are pleased that PBA has selected cavosonstat for IND-enabling studies,” said Tom Liu, CEO of Laurel Therapeutics. “Precision medicine is often thought of in terms of the doctor-patient relationship and personalizing the care that a patient receives. PBA has taken this several steps further by identifying a target patient population and optimizing the compound specifically for them, even before the compound enters the clinic. We feel this approach will be highly impactful for cystic fibrosis, especially for patients with rare CFTR mutations.”
Cavosonstat is a novel CFTR modulator designed to correct a subset of CFTR mutations by increasing stability of the CFTR protein in the cell membrane through inhibition of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) and preservation of S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). Late-stage clinical trials for cavosonstat in a broad population of cystic fibrosis patients with at least one F508del CFTR mutation previously demonstrated safety and tolerability, but did not reach statistical significance for efficacy. Cavosonstat is the most clinically advanced GSNOR inhibitor in Laurel’s broad portfolio of GSNOR inhibitors.
About Path BioAnalytics
Path BioAnalytics (PBA) is a precision medicine company dedicated to the advancement of next-generation of treatments for individuals living with respiratory disease. PBA couples a personalized 3D cell culture system with extensive in-house clinical datasets from a broad cross-section of individuals to provide an innovative platform for drug development. PBA is utilizing its technology to advance internal and external drug programs for a range of diseases. The company’s internal development programs are focused on cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary fibrosis. PBA’s patient-centric, precision medicine approach to drug development allows the company to de-risk R&D decisions, improve the efficiency of clinical testing, and ultimately produce more effective medications for targeted patient populations. Additional information is available at www.pathbioanalytics.com.
About Laurel Therapeutics
Laurel Therapeutics is a fully integrated clinical stage biopharmaceutical company transforming the lives of patients with respiratory disease. The company was founded by Laurel Venture Capital to pursue the development of cavosonstat for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Laurel Venture is a life science focused venture capital firm with a focus on investment in early and mid-stage therapeutic assets of life science companies in China, Europe and the United States. Laurel’s team of investors and entrepreneurs share a passion for the transformative power of technology to fulfill the unmet medical need, and to fund companies that can deliver breakthrough medical advances with cutting-edge technology and strong IP profiles.
Path BioAnalytics Media Contact: +1 919 590 8108, email: info@pathbioanalytics.com
Laurel Therapeutics Media Contact: +86 571 88134917, email: hd.hu@laurelventure.com