EICOSIS, LLC Receives $4 Million to Develop Novel Treatment for Diabetic Neuropathic Pain

Davis, CA, January 8, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​​​​​​​​EicOsis, LLC was awarded a federal grant totaling over $4 million to advance compounds through Phase 1 clinical trials for diabetic neuropathic pain.  The grant, “Development of an Oral Analgesic for Neuropathic Pain”, is funded through The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint for Neuroscience Research (Blueprint).

There is a growing need to develop alternatives to treat chronic pain and specifically diabetic neuropathy because diabetes is increasing worldwide and painful neuropathy occurs in 50% of diabetic patients. Current therapies have dose limiting side effects in addition to being ineffective in more than 3 of 4 patients. 

The EicOsis technology may solve a great need in pain treatment in providing a powerful analgesic which avoids the side effects of NSAIDs and opioids. The EicOsis compounds hold great promise for controlling neuropathic pain in general and particularly for this difficult and common medical problem

Dr. Scott Fishman, Professor and Chief of Pain Medicine at UC Davis

“The EicOsis technology may solve a great need in pain treatment in providing a powerful analgesic which avoids the side effects of NSAIDs and opioids.  The EicOsis compounds hold great promise for controlling neuropathic pain in general and particularly for this difficult and common medical problem.” Said Dr. Scott Fishman, Professor and Chief of Pain Medicine at UC Davis.

Dr. Bruce Hammock, CEO and founder of EicOsis, discovered EC5026 which is a first-in-class, small molecule inhibitor of the soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) enzyme. sEH is a key regulatory enzyme involved in the metabolism of membrane fatty acids.  Inhibition of sEH treats pain by stabilizing natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory mediators within cells that are involved in resolving pain and inflammation.  EC5026 and close analogs have already shown efficacy against naturally-occurring moderate-to-severe pain in dogs, cats, and horses. 

The lead scientist on the grant, Dr. Alan Buckpitt, VP of Pharmacology, described the IND candidate as a “Potent, orally active, and a non-narcotic analgesic that does not adversely affect the brain, gastrointestinal tract, or cardiovascular system. The compound effectively treats pain in preclinical models at low oral doses with no apparent adverse or addictive effects,” he said. “Preclinical studies demonstrate efficacy that exceeds current therapies for diabetic neuropathy.”

The $4 million grant through the Blueprint Program will provide both financial support and shared resources for advancing the EicOsis lead candidate through early clinical trials. The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is a cooperative effort among the 15 NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices that support neuroscience research and accelerates discoveries through pooled resources and expertise.

“The Blueprint program provides a team with decades of experience in fields ranging from formulation to registration.  This depth is an enormous help to a small company.  Blueprint pays for the big ticket items along the path through Phase 1 clinical trials.  The ability to leverage this intellectual and financial support will make EicOsis an attractive investment,” said Peppi Prasit, CEO of Inception Sciences and an EicOsis advisor.

The Blueprint Program funds proposal at two levels, an early discovery phase and a translational, development phase that includes entry into Phase 1 clinical trials. 

“We are really honored to have been the first company to enter directly into the clinical development phase of the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network award program.  Since this was a highly competitive grant, this demonstrates the enthusiasm that the NIH has for developing non-opioid therapeutic options for treating severe pain.  With the support and direct collaboration of outside experts in the NIH network, we look forward to advancing this novel type of analgesic drug into human clinical trials.” says EicOsis VP of Clinical Development, Dr. William Schmidt.

About EicOsis

EicOsis is a privately held company developing a first-in-class therapy of a once daily, oral treatment for neuropathic and inflammatory pain in humans and companion animals. The technology for the lead compounds was developed at the University of California Davis by EicOsis CEO and UC professor, Dr. Bruce Hammock and licensed exclusively to EicOsis from the University of California, Davis. EicOsis has a strong patent position with both method-of-use and composition of matter patents.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Neurological Disorders And Stroke of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UH2NS094258.