Neurological diseases: your intended indication, our contribution

From the early identification of your leads to the characterization and validation of your advanced candidates, ANS Biotech supports your R&D efforts in Neurology.

Our gold standard preclinical models: the essential step before your compounds move into the clinic

Neurology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, function, and organic disorders of nerves and the nervous system.

Both central and peripheral nervous systems can be damaged or affected by diseases inducing pain. Indeed, stroke, injury or diseases targeting the brain and/or the spinal cord can induce neuropathic pain. In addition, peripheral neuropathic pain is due to the degeneration of peripheral sensory nerves.

Neuropathic pain is relatively common, afflicting 7% to 8% of the population around the world.

In patients, neuropathic pain is mainly characterized by a long-lasting exaggerated pain behavior (hyperalgesia and allodynia). Impaired quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms are also described. Painful peripheral neuropathy is associated not only with multiple diseases including chronic back pain, cancer, HIV and diabetes, but also with the use of chemotherapeutic agents or antiviral treatments. Pain associated with acute neuronal damage can transition to chronic pain as well.

The most commonly prescribed drug classes for neuropathic pain (tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, NMDA receptor antagonists, anticonvulsants, and opioids) have limited efficacy and dose-limiting adverse effects. Despite the large number of individuals debilitated by neuropathic pain, no single agent provides the optimal balance of safety, tolerability, and efficacy. Therefore research in this field is very active to discover and develop novel therapeutics, and the neuropathic pain market is anticipated to grow by more than 5% in the coming years.

How we can help you

 

Prior to moving into the clinic, preclinical investigations are necessary to evidence the efficacy of your compound in the neuropathic pain area.
Within a preclinical pain project, four steps may be of value:

1- In terms of compound profiling, we can document the basics for your lead (dose range, side effects, plasma level, CNS exposure).

2- Using a screening approach, we can guide you in the selection of your candidate.

3- We can leverage a broad panel of disease models mimicking the pathophysiology mechanisms of neuropathic pain to characterize the efficacy of your candidate.

4- We can mitigate the risk associated with clinical development by comparing your candidate versus standard of care agents.