Mumbai, April 04,2014 : Drug maker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd’s pain management drug candidate, GRC 27864, is entering human trials in the UK.
The company has already completed preclinical and phase-1 enabling studies on the newly discovered molecule and has applied to the UK drug regulator Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for starting the first human trials.
“The phase 1-studies are to be initiated soon and are likely to get completed by January 2015,” Glenmark said in a statement on Thursday.
Following the phase 1 trials, Glenmark will also be initiating a proof of concept study in patients suffering from acute pain, the company said.
“We are excited that our discovery programme in the pain management class is moving forward to human trials. This is another potential first-in-class molecule and there is a significant unmet medical need,” said Michael Buschle, chief scientific officer at Glenmark Pharma.
The new molecule could help in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and associated pain. It is being developed as a therapy for chronic disorders such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, according to Glenmark.
Glenmark, which is active in drug discovery research, typically licence out its lead molecules to bigger multinational companies after completing early stage studies of a drug candidate. In the past, it struck at least four such research licensing deals, which bring both upfront and milestone revenues.
With the new pain management drug candidate, Glenmark expects a higher valuation in the event of an outlicensing deal, if it successfully completes the human trials.
There are more than 1.5 billion people worldwide suffering from chronic pain in some form or the other, according to industry data.
Glenmark stock closed at Rs.580.10, down 0.61%, on the BSE on Thursday, while the Sensex closed 0.19% lower at 22,509.07 points.
