CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Adenosine Therapeutics, LLC, a leading adenosine drug discovery and development company, announced today it has been awarded 4 new grants totaling approximately $1,887,634. These grants are to further evaluate new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of asthma, sepsis, and arthritis.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the grants: a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $755,496 to identify an A2BR antagonist as a therapeutic candidate for the treatment of asthma; a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer Research Advanced Technology (STTR-AT) grant for $861,737 to further expand its research on the use of apadenoson, the Company's selective A2A agonist that is in Phase III clinical testing as a heart imaging agent, for the treatment of sepsis (systemic bacterial infection); a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) grant for $132,798 to further expand its pre-clinical research on the use of agents that activate the adenosine A2A receptor subtypes for the treatment of S. aureus (or gram positive) sepsis; and a Phase I STTR for $137,603 to further expand its clinical research on the use of agents that activate the adenosine A2A receptor subtypes for the treatment of arthritis.
The goal of the asthma grant is to develop a selective blocker of the adenosine A2B receptor (A2BAR) that could replace theophylline, a non-selective adenosine blocker, in the treatment of asthma.
Chemists at Adenosine Therapeutics, LLC have synthesized a new series of proprietary selective adenosine A2B receptor blockers and have identified compounds that have potential for further development as clinical candidates. The goal of the studies sponsored by the SBIR funding is to advance a lead candidate for clinical development.
"We are excited about the opportunity to develop a new tool for the treatment of asthma, a disease that affects over 9 million adults and 5 million children in the US," said Robert Capon, CEO and co-founder of ATL. "An alternative that minimizes the side effects common with current treatment would add a powerful new tool to treat this illness."
The sepsis grant awards will accelerate research on apadenoson and other compounds owned by the Company for the possible treatment of sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition affecting over half a million people in the US annually. There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of sepsis over the last 20 years and physicians have limited therapies available for its treatment.
"With a mortality rate in severe sepsis of over 30% and only a limited number of therapeutic agents available, sepsis represents a major unmet medical need," said Shannon P. Williams, PhD, Principal Investigator and Vice President Regulatory and Clinical Development at ATL. "Apadenoson represents an important new potential tool for the treatment of sepsis patients."
The arthritis grant award will further Adenosine Therapeutics' development of a second generation of A2A agonists for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.
About Adenosine Therapeutics
Adenosine Therapeutics focuses on the discovery and development of novel pharmaceutical products that selectively target the four known adenosine receptor subtypes. Candidates for drug development are identified and screened using the company's state-of-the-art adenosine receptor screening platform technology. The company was founded with the goal of taking new adenosine- receptor selective drugs into clinical trials for a broad range of potential indications. These drug indications include inflammatory indications, sepsis, heart attack, ischemia-reperfusion injury, vascular injury, spinal cord injury, COPD, asthma, diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, retinopathy, and Parkinson's disease. The company's most advanced drug development program is in Phase III clinical development. For more information on Adenosine Therapeutics, please visit our web site at http://www.adenrx.com.
Adenosine Therapeutics, LLCCONTACT: Robert Capon of Adenosine Therapeutics, LLC, +1-434-220-9400 x201
Web site: http://www.adenrx.com//
