• Three Phase 1 studies displayed favorable pharmacokinetics and good tolerability of NRD.E1 after oral administration
• The Phase 2a, proof of concept study demonstrated clinically meaningful reductions in pain across primary and secondary endpoints and a benign side effect profile
• In summary, data from these 4 studies now published demonstrate the potential of NRD.E1 as an innovative non-opioid treatment option for patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN)
• Based on available data, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US has selected and included NRD.E1 to the NIH-HEAL Initiative® under which the NIH sponsors and executes a Phase 2b trial with study recruitment starting in 3Q 2022

BASEL, Switzerland–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Novaremed AG, a privately held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative non-opioid treatment options for chronic pain management announces the simultaneous publication of data from three Phase 1 studies in Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development and one Phase 2a, placebo-controlled, dose-finding, proof of concept study in European Journal of Pain with the Company’s lead investigational drug candidate NRD.E1, an innovative non-opioid therapy for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

“We are delighted with the publication of our Phase 1 and Phase 2a studies which collectively demonstrate the drug candidate’s potential as an innovative non-opioid treatment option for patients with chronic pain,” said Eva Tiecke, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of R&D of Novaremed and lead author of both publications. “In the Phase 2a proof of concept study, the primary endpoint showed a clinically relevant placebo-corrected treatment effect in pain reductions at 40 and 150 mg/day of 0.82 Numerical Rating Scale points, p = 0.034 and 0.66, p= 0.061, respectively, though it narrowly missed the pre-specified value of p = 0.016 due to multiplicity. Overall, the study showed robust results given the consistent performance across multiple endpoints. Based on the data now published in peer-reviewed journals, we are encouraged about the potential of NRD.E1 to address the high unmet medical need for a non-opioid agent to treat chronic pain.”

In three Phase 1 studies NRD.E1 was well tolerated as single dose up to 1200 mg and repeated doses of 300 mg/day for five consecutive days. The studies revealed dose-dependent absorption, small increased exposure to NRD.E1 at peak when administered with food and no relevant accumulation after oral administration. The Phase 2a study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding, proof-of-concept study in 88 patients with PDPN. The study investigated NRD.E1 at 10, 40, or 150 mg/day or placebo over a 3-week treatment period. Primary, pre-specified secondary and post-hoc secondary endpoints analyses consistently demonstrate a clinically meaningful reduction in pain. NRD.E1 was safe and well tolerated.

References:

[1] Tiecke E., Rainisio M., Guentert T., Müller S., Hochman L., Kaplan E., Mangialaio S. (2022). First-in-human single-ascending-dose, multiple-dose and food interaction studies of NRD.E1, an innovative non-opioid therapy for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development (CPDD) (https://accp1.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cpdd.1103).

[2] Tiecke E., Rainisio M., Eisenberg E., Wainstein J., Kaplan E., Silverberg M., Hochman L., Mangialaio S. (2022) NRD.E1, an innovative non-opioid therapy for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy – a randomized proof of concept study. European Journal of Pain (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejp.1989).

About NRD.E1 and the treatment of chronic pain

NRD.E1, an orally active small molecule with a novel mechanism of action and patent protection until 2040, is Novaremed’s lead compound currently being developed to treat PDPN.

On the basis of the results now published, NRD.E1 was selected by the NIH as the only oral agent to be included in the NIH-HEAL (Help End Long-term Addiction) program. The NIH will sponsor and execute by the and conducted by EPPIC-Net (Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network) a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b study in patients with moderate to severe PDPN in the US. Novaremed has an open IND and received Fast Track Designation from the FDA for NRD.E1.

About Novaremed

Novaremed AG, a privately held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is developing a pipeline of innovative medications for chronic pain management to address the high unmet medical need for better pain relief and as an alternative to opioids. Its lead product is NRD.E1, an orally active non-opioid small molecule with a novel mechanism of action, has FDA Fast Track Designation and IND-approval to proceed with a Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN). The earlier stage pipeline addressing chronic pain includes the development candidates MP-101 (early clinical development stage), and MP-103 (preclinical stage), targeting the unmet medical need of prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). For more information: www.novaremed.com.

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Contacts

Mark Altmeyer, Executive Member of the Board

mark.altmeyer@novaremed.com