Confo Therapeutics Awarded EUR 1M VLAIO Grant for Pre-Clinical Development of CFTX-1554, an AT2R Modulator for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain

GHENT, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Confo Therapeutics announced today that it has been awarded a EUR 1 million grant from Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). The grant will support the pre-clinical development of CFTX-1554, Confo’s lead candidate for neuropathic pain, which was initially discovered under a previous VLAIO research grant.

Confo is developing CFTX-1554 based on its promise as a potential treatment for patients living with peripheral neuropathic pain, a debilitating condition for which current treatment methods are ineffective or often result in severe side-effects or even addiction. The grant covers clinical trial application (CTA)-enabling studies to further characterize the pharmacology and safety of CFTX-1554 and the development of appropriate manufacturing protocols, as well as translational biomarker studies to examine the mechanism of action of AT2R modulation.

Paolo Vicini, CDO of Confo Therapeutics, commented: “The additional biomarker research we can now undertake has the potential to add significant value to our program by laying the groundwork needed to obtain proof of pharmacology data in Phase I. Furthermore, this newly secured funding will allow us to conduct the experimental evaluations needed to determine the optimal dose range for a Phase I clinical trial.”

Cedric Ververken, CEO of Confo Therapeutics, added: “With the support of the VLAIO grant we are well-positioned to rapidly advance CFTX-1554 towards a first-in-human Phase I trial. We are grateful to VLAIO for its continued support of this project, which importantly could lead to a treatment that alleviates significant patient distress.”

About CFTX-1554
CFTX-1554 is Confo Therapeutics’ first product candidate in pre-clinical development and is designed to address peripheral neuropathic pain with the potential to address additional pain indications. The compound is a novel inhibitor of angiotensin II type 2 receptor, or AT2R, a clinically validated target for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Previous clinical-stage compounds targeting AT2R have demonstrated efficacy but failed to progress due to possible off-target toxicity concerns. CFTX-1554 interacts more efficiently with the AT2R binding site, resulting in improved drug-like properties. Confo has initiated Phase I-enabling studies and aims to advance CFTX-1554 to clinical development upon successful completion of these studies.

About Confo Therapeutics
Confo Therapeutics’ unparalleled technology stabilizes functional conformations of GPCRs (G protein-coupled receptors) to uncover a wide range of previously inaccessible drug targets. This platform combined with the pharmacologic and biologic insight it provides, allows Confo to build a multi-indication pipeline of drug candidates with the vision of transforming therapeutic outcomes for patients with severe illnesses lacking disease-modifying treatments. Confo Therapeutics was spun out of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and VIB in 2015. Supported by international life-science focused investors and led by an experienced team of entrepreneurial professionals and scientists from successful biopharmaceutical companies, Confo Therapeutics benefits from the rich scientific and innovative ecosystem in Belgium.

For more information, visit www.confotherapeutics.com

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