Oryzon begins pre-clinical development of drug candidate to treat Huntington’s disease
Huntington’s disease is an orphan disease that currently has no cure.
BY BIOCAT
Four months after announcing the launch of their first product to market —a non-invasive test to detect endometrial cancer— Oryzon has begun pre-clinical trials on a candidate to treat Huntington’s disease.
The drug is a first-in-class bio-specific Lysine Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1) and Monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitor. Carlos Buesa, CEO of this biotech company based in Cornellà de Llobregat (Barcelona), explains that "based on the exciting results from our research, we hope that targeting both LSD1 and MAO-B will provide a more effective therapy for patients suffering from this devastating disease."
Huntington’s is a hereditary disease that causes the progressive degeneration of neuronal cells in the brain. Current treatments only address symptoms and, even so, have a limited efficacy.
Carlos Buesa: "Our patent portfolio makes us the partner of choice for exploring the therapeutic possibilities of LSD1 and related enzymes "
The MAO-B enzymes play a key role in activating neurotransmitters and are a pharmacological target for treating neurological disorders. Abnormally high levels of MAO-B activity have been identified in the brains of those suffering from Huntington’s disease, and there is mounting evidence that metabolism of transmitter dopamine by the MAO-B enzymes may contribute to damage in a specific part of the brain (striate). Additionally, LSD1 is a pharmacological target that has been suggested for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, in addition to cancer and viral infections.
Oryzon’s LSD1 bio-specific inhibitors have been shown to increase survival time and improve several motor and behavioral parameters in at least three transgenic animal models that reproduce this disease.
According to Buesa "this demonstrates our leadership in epigenetically based therapeutic approaches. Our patent portfolio makes us the partner of choice for exploring the therapeutic possibilities of LSD1 and related enzymes."