Eicosis Completes Fundraising For Phase 1 Clinical Development Program Of Novel Pain Therapeutic
MARCH 14, 2019 - EicOsis Human Health, located in Davis, CA, recently received a $5 million dollar investment from Open Philanthropy to support clinical trials on a novel, non-opioid, oral therapy for neuropathic and inflammatory pain. Open Philanthropy Project identifies outstanding investment opportunities and makes grants based on importance, need, and tractability. Chris Somerville and Heather Youngs of Open Philanthropy said the Davis project was targeted because the EicOsis drug may reduce suffering from chronic pain conditions which are severe in both developed and developing nations. “This support allows us to move through several drug development stages leading to human clinical trials. I am particularly pleased that the support came from Open Philanthropy with their history of both financially successful and socially important investments,” said Bruce Hammock one of the founders of EicOsis.
EicOsis is targeting a novel pathway to block the underlying cause of pain. Karen Wagner, a neurobiologist with the company, said “We know our orally active compounds stabilize natural regulatory mediators in the body that reduce endoplasmic reticulum stress which, in turn, appears to cause a variety of chronic diseases. The EicOsis compounds represent a new mechanism of action that both resolves inflammation and reduces pain.”
William Schmidt, VP of Clinical Development with EicOsis, has spent his entire professional life developing novel pain medicines. “I am thrilled that we have a drug candidate lacking the side effects of both opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that can produce an entirely new way to treat chronic pain. Chronic pain is a pressing need for over 100 million people in this country alone.”
EicOsis has completed pre-IND studies and is on track to initiate Phase 1a clinical trials that are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2019.
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.
EicOsis research reported has been supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UH2NS094258 and SBIR Award number R44ES025598.
Contact: Cindy McReynolds (530) 338-0070 cbmcreynolds@eicosis.com