STOCKHOLM, February 22, 2019. Karolinska Development's portfolio company Modus Therapeutics announces today that the first cohort has been successfully dosed in its
phase 1 study to explore the pharmacokinetics, safety and tolerability of subcutaneous sevuparin injections in healthy adults.
Modus Therapeutic develops sevuparin for diseases with high unmet medical need with a focus on sickle cell disease (SCD) - a painful, inherited blood disorder affecting millions of people around the globe. Sevuparin has the potential to improve the SCD patients' blood flow reducing their pain and the amount of time they will need to spend in hospital.
Intravenously administered sevuparin is currently being tested in a phase 2 study which completed enrollment in January 2019 and will report data in mid-2019. In order to broaden sevuparins potential to help SCD patients outside of the hospital setting, Modus Therapeutics in parallel explores subcutaneously administered sevuparin. The first cohort in a phase 1 single ascending dose study exploring pharmacokinetics, safety and tolerability of subcutaneous sevuparin injections in healthy volunteers has now successfully been dosed in a U.S clinical trial facility. Subcutaneously administered sevuparin has the potential to become a home-based, self-administered therapeutic option for patients with SCD in the stages before and after a VOC - the very painful crisis that are believed to contribute to the patient's gradual accumulation of complications such as organ failure and stroke.
In November 2018 the FDA accepted Modus Therapeutics IND application. The phase 1 study with subcutaneously administered sevuparin is the first step in moving the clinical development of sevuparin to the United States.
"This is an important milestone for Modus Therapeutics as it both paves the way for a new treatment option for patients with sickle cell disease and constitutes the start of the clinical development of sevuparin in the US", says Viktor Drvota, CEO of Karolinska Development.
For further information, please contact:
Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development AB
Phone: +46 73 982 52 02, e-mail: viktor.drvota@karolinskadevelopment.com
TO THE EDITORS
About Karolinska Development AB
Karolinska Development AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) is a Nordic life sciences investment company. The company focuses on identifying breakthrough medical innovations in the Nordic region that are developed by entrepreneurs and leadership teams. The Company invests in the creation and growth of companies that advance these assets into commercial products that are designed to make a difference to patients' lives while providing an attractive return on investment to shareholders.
Karolinska Development has access to world-class medical innovations at the Karolinska Institutet and other leading universities and research institutes in the Nordic region. The Company aims to build companies around scientists who are leaders in their fields, supported by experienced management teams and advisers, and co-funded by specialist international investors, to provide the greatest chance of success.
Karolinska Development has established a portfolio of ten companies targeting opportunities in innovative treatment for life-threatening or serious debilitating diseases.
The Company is led by an entrepreneurial team of investment professionals with a proven track record as company builders and with access to a strong global network.
For more information, please visit www.karolinskadevelopment.com
