AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ) (FN STO: ALZCUR) a pharmaceutical company that develops a broad portfolio of drug candidates for diseases affecting the central nervous system, with projects in both Alzheimer’s disease and pain, today announced that an abstract on ACD440, the leading non-opioid drug candidate in the Painless platform, has been accepted for presentation at the annual international pain conference EFIC, European Pain Federation, which this year is being held in Budapest, Hungary, on September 20-22.
The abstract, titled A study of ACD440 gel for the treatment of patients with peripheral neuropathic pain with sensory hypersensitivity, will be presented at EFIC 2023 by Dr. Märta Segerdahl, project leader and CMO at AlzeCure.
The presentation will include results from the ongoing phase II clinical trial of ACD440 in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain. This study is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized crossover study aimed at evaluating the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of AlzeCure's lead candidate drug in pain, ACD440. The main results from the study are expected by the summer of 2023 at the latest.
”The results from the ongoing study, which we expect to receive at the latest this summer, will be very interesting to evaluate. We believe that ACD440 could significantly improve the quality of life for patients suffering from neuropathic pain”, said Dr Märta Segerdahl.
AlzeCure's drug candidate ACD440 is a TRPV1 antagonist for the local treatment of patients with peripheral neuropathic pain. The discovery of TRPV1 that underlies the project was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2021. There is thus a strong scientific basis for this biological mechanism, including its relationship to pain signaling. ACD440, which is also the company's leading drug candidate within the Painless platform, completed a positive phase Ib study in 2021. It showed both very good tolerability and safety, but also a potent, long-lasting pain-relieving effect of the substance that is applied as a gel to the skin.
"The development of ACD440 takes place in an area with very large medical needs where up to 80% of patients do not get a satisfactory effect with their current treatments. The neuropathic pain market is also the single largest market segment in pain management with annual sales exceeding USD 11 billion, reflecting the large number of people affected", said Martin Jönsson, CEO of AlzeCure Pharma.
