News

PharmNovo AB have been granted a patent in the USA for our candidate delta opioid receptor agonist PN6047. The European Patent Office is very likely to follow suit early in 2019. PN6047 is a biased delta opioid receptor agonist (DOBRA) favouring signalling through G proteins and, in preclinical testing, it has none of the unwanted side effects of conventional opioid analgesics. PharmNovo AB have been granted a patent in the USA for our candidate delta opioid receptor agonist PN6047. This is a key step towards clinical testing for the treatment of chronic pain states.

In November, PharmNovo AB opened a new office at the Medicon Village in Lund, Sweden. This science research park is a transformation of former Astra Zeneca buildings now housing over 100 high tec organizations. The location provides extensive opportunities for collaborations at every level of drug development from molecular design to clinical testing.

In order to provide advice on the clinical potential for PharmNovo’s delta opioid receptor agonists, Professor Andrew Rice from Imperial College London has agreed to become a consultant to the team. Prof Rice is an internationally regarded clinical and scientific expert in the field of chronic pain.

Our CSO Prof David Kendall is co-organizer of a British Pharmacological Society-sponsored symposium at the 2018 ELRIG Drug Discovery meeting in London in October (Read here). The symposium entitled “The opioid crisis, addiction and the search for more effective analgesics”, will bring together industrial and academic pain research experts and Prof Kendall will give a presentation on the potential of delta opioid receptor agonists in chronic pain therapy.

Since 2008 PharmNovo has developed novel molecules which are highly selective, potent and effective in animal models of chronic pain. We have designed compounds with ligand bias which means that they have a very favourable activity profile with none of the unwanted effects characteristic of conventional opioids that act mainly through mu opioid receptors. Our compounds are agonists of the delta opioid receptor, activation of which is known to effectively combat chronic but not acute pain.