Noxopharm Ltd (ASX:NOX) and its majority-owned subsidiary, Nyrada, have discovered a way to inhibit IRAK4, a protein widely regarded as the master switch in the development of many forms of chronic inflammation including autoimmune diseases.
Nyrada Inc is a US incorporated biotechnology company, two-thirds owned by Noxopharm and consolidated within the NOX Group to hold the Noxopharm non-oncology drug development programs.
IRAK4 has emerged in recent years as a key switch in the cells that form the body’s innate immune system.
Faulty IRAK4 behaviour in these innate immune cells is widely regarded as playing a key role in the development of many forms of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
This has led to IRAK4-inhibitors being widely hailed as the next generation of anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease (including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease), lupus and psoriasis.
Potent IRAK4 inhibitor discovered
Noxopharm has discovered a compound that is a potent inhibitor of IRAK4.
While this provides an opportunity to treat the same broad range of conditions being pursued by others, Noxopharm believes that the future of its IRAK4 program lies in the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (brain and spine) and the body’s peripheral nerves.
This belief comes from the ability of this compound to cross the barriers that exclude the great majority of drugs from entering the brain and peripheral nerves.
This ability provides Noxopharm an opportunity to pursue drug development for inflammation associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (motor neurone disease) and peripheral neuropathies (particularly diabetic peripheral neuropathy).
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Noxopharm chief executive officer Graham Kelly said: “I see this as a major development. At a strategic level it adds an important plank to the group’s ambitions to evolve into a global biotech company.
“But importantly at the patient level, it represents a realistic prospect for finally being able to provide treatment for a number of insidious diseases affecting the nervous system which have defied successful management to date.”