Novaremed Enters Into an Exclusive Option and License Agreement With NeuroFront for the Non-opioid Neuropathic Pain Treatment, NRD.E1, for Greater China and Singapore
21.7.2022 10:58:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Novaremed AG and NeuroFront Therapeutics (Hong Kong) Limited jointly announce the signing of an exclusive collaboration and commercialization agreement for Novaremed’s innovative non-opioid investigational drug, NRD.E1, being developed for the treatment of diabetes-related neuropathic pain and other neuropathic pain indications. Under the terms of the agreement, Novaremed is eligible to receive from NeuroFront over USD 130 million in option and exercise fees as well as development, regulatory and sales milestone payments plus royalties on net sales.
Under the terms of the agreement, Novaremed will grant NeuroFront an exclusive option to obtain exclusive development, commercialization and manufacturing rights to NRD.E1, Novaremed’s first-in-class, innovative non-opioid investigational drug candidate for the treatment of neuropathic pain. The agreement allows NeuroFront to develop and commercialize NRD.E1 as treatment of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN) and any other neuropathic pain indications in the Greater China territory (including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) and Singapore.
NeuroFront has the right to exercise its license option at its discretion, but no later than upon completion of the Phase 2b trial of NRD.E1 in PDPN, which will start patient enrollment in coming weeks.
In case NeuroFront successfully develops and registers NRD.E1 in additional neuropathic pain indications in the licensed territory, Novaremed is also eligible to receive additional development and regulatory milestone payments for each additional indication.
“We are very delighted collaborating with NeuroFront to advance our non-opioid neuropathic pain treatment for patients suffering from PDPN and other neuropathic pain indications in China. Currently, approved medications for PDPN provide inadequate pain relief and are associated with many intolerable side effects. Based on both preclinical and clinical data, we believe NRD.E1 has the potential to offer unique benefits and revolutionize the way PDPN is treated,” said Isaac Kobrin, MD, Executive Chairman of Novaremed. “NeuroFront’s development and commercial expertise and its focus on innovative CNS drugs is complementary to our expertise and an ideal fit for Novaremed.”
“There are up to 19 million patients suffering from PDPN in China, but no new innovative drug has been introduced in the market for more than 15 years. There exists a significant unmet medical need and hence a great opportunity for NRD.E1, a first-in-class, novel treatment that has already demonstrated clinical effectiveness in a Phase 2a clinical trial and subsequently received US FDA Fast Track Designation and NIH sponsorship for its Phase 2b trial,” said June Yan, CEO of NeuroFront. “NeuroFront is very excited to partner with Novaremed to change the lives of many PDPN patients in Greater China and Singapore.”
This partnership and the transaction were facilitated with the assistance of Cukierman and Company Investment House.
About NRD.E1 and the treatment of chronic pain
NRD.E1 is an orally active small molecule with a novel mechanism of action by modulating Lyn kinase and has patent protection until 2040. NRD.E1 is Novaremed’s lead drug candidate currently being developed to treat painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN). Novaremed successfully completed three Phase 1 studies [1] and one double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2a dose-finding proof-of-concept study [2] in which NRD.E1 showed a clinically relevant reduction in patient-reported pain (measured as an improvement in mean neuropathic pain score) and was very well tolerated at all doses tested.
On the basis of these results, NRD.E1 has been granted Fast Track Designation by the US FDA and was selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US as the only oral agent to be included in the NIH-HEAL (Help End Long-term Addiction) program. The NIH will sponsor and execute a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b study in patients with moderate to severe PDPN in the US. Recruitment into this clinical trial will start in coming weeks.
About NeuroFront
NeuroFront is a China-based clinical stage neuroscience biotech company with a focus on developing and commercializing innovative neuroscience therapies to address unmet needs and improve patients' lives in China and Asia. NeuroFront was established by top-tier life sciences investors, including Nan Fung Life Sciences and Pivotal bioVenture Partners China, and is led by an elite team of neuroscience industry veterans with substantial and compelling expertise in China and globally in both R&D and the commercialization of CNS products. NeuroFront is building a portfolio of innovative, transformative CNS therapies that treat migraine, painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy, depression, ADHD, and other CNS diseases with high unmet medical needs. For more information: www.neurofrontrx.com.
About Novaremed
Novaremed AG, a privately held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is developing a pipeline of innovative medications for chronic pain management to address the high unmet medical need for better pain relief and as an alternative to opioids. Its lead product is NRD.E1, an orally active non-opioid small molecule with a novel mechanism of action, has FDA Fast Track Designation and IND-approval to proceed with a Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN). The earlier stage pipeline addressing chronic neuropathic pain includes the development candidates MP-101 (Phase 2 stage), and MP-103 (preclinical stage), targeting the unmet medical need of prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Novaremed Ltd (Israel) and Metys Pharmaceuticals AG (Switzerland) are fully owned subsidiaries of Novaremed AG, domiciled in Basel (Switzerland). For more information: www.novaremed.com.
References
[1] Tiecke E., Rainisio M., Guentert T., Müller S., Hochman L., Kaplan E., Mangialaio S. (2022). First-in-human single-ascending-dose, multiple-dose and food interaction studies of NRD.E1, an innovative non-opioid therapy for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development (CPDD). (https://accp1.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cpdd.1103)
[2] Tiecke E., Rainisio M., Eisenberg E., Wainstein J., Kaplan E., Silverberg M., Hochman L., Mangialaio S. (2022). NRD.E1, an innovative non-opioid therapy for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy – a randomized proof of concept study. European Journal of Pain. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejp.1989)
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220721005391/en/
Contact information
Contact for Novaremed
Mark Altmeyer, Executive Member of the Board
mark.altmeyer@novaremed.com
Contact for NeuroFront
Bin Yao, VP of Operations and Commercialization
bin.yao@neurofrontrx.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Behind the Stage Lights: How Students Learned to Trust Their Voices with Doha Debates14.9.2026 16:40:00 EEST | Press release
During high school years in Model United Nations, Dahlia Al-Ansari learned to argue on behalf of a country she was assigned to represent. But when Doha Debates invited her to join a town hall debate in Toronto this July, she faced an unfamiliar challenge: sharing her own beliefs about a timely issue. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914150232/en/ Students from Qatar, Canada and Mexico during their visit to the University of Toronto as part of the Doha Debates Town Hall experience in Canada. (Photo: AETOSWire) An 18-year-old biological sciences student at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Al-Ansari hadn’t traveled to defend a predetermined position. Instead, she discovered that she was there to think critically, express her own viewpoint and remain open to diverse perspectives. This shift required her to navigate uncharted waters, but “I’m happy that it did,” she says. “It’s showing me the importance of sp
Matt Shafer Joins Golub Capital as Head of Golub Equity Continuation Partners14.9.2026 16:30:00 EEST | Press release
Golub Capital (“the Firm”) today announced the appointment of Matt Shafer as Managing Director and Head of the Firm’s GP-led private equity secondaries strategy, Golub Equity Continuation Partners (“GECP”). In this role, he will be responsible for leading the continued growth and development of the strategy and helping expand the Firm’s equity investment capabilities. Matt will work closely with Greg Cashman, Vice Chair and Co-Head of Golub Capital’s Sponsor Finance practice, to expand Golub Capital’s activity in this growing market. Shafer brings nearly three decades of global experience as an investor, financier and advisor working with private equity firms. He was most recently Head of Capital Solutions and U.S. Private Equity at Northleaf Capital Partners. In this role, Shafer helped lead the firm’s private equity investment activities, including secondaries, co‑investments and structured capital. Prior to Northleaf, he was Partner and Head of Americas Private Equity at Vision Capi
HealthCap Invests in AMRA Medical to Accelerate Global Growth in Quantitative MRI14.9.2026 16:19:00 EEST | Press release
AMRA Medical today announced an investment from HealthCap, one of Europe’s leading life science venture capital firms. This milestone marks a significant step in AMRA’s growth, underscoring market confidence in the company’s vision to transform the measurement and understanding of muscle and fat. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914838191/en/ HealthCap Invests in AMRA Medical to Accelerate Global Growth in Quantitative MRI HealthCap’s backing comes as quantitative MRI gains vital importance in understanding how fat distribution and muscle composition influence disease, treatment response, and patient outcomes. Built on over 15 years of research, AMRA’s proprietary methods move beyond conventional metrics—like weight, and BMI and muscle function tests—to provide the standardized, automated data from advanced muscle and fat imaging necessary for modern clinical research. With its deep scientific expertise and
Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures Announces 2026 Global Cohort of Innovators14.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced the 2026 global cohort of its Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures (MSISV). This year’s cohort includes 20 startups and four nonprofits across the Americas and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) participating in the firm's five-month accelerator program designed to help early-stage innovators develop and scale their impact. Selected from thousands of applications, the 24 organizations will receive a $150,000 equity investment, or grant funding for nonprofits, as well as access to a curated curriculum, networking opportunities and office space. Founders will work closely with a dedicated MSISV team, Entrepreneurs in Residence and senior Morgan Stanley mentors. Following the five-month accelerator program, the cohort will present at a global showcase and demo day in February 2027. MSISV is focused on advancing solutions in four thematic areas where the firm sees significant potential for scale and measurable impact: Environment, Health & Wellb
Textron Aviation and Merlin Introduce Cessna SkyCourier UX Concept Aircraft14.9.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, and Merlin, Inc. today introduced a concept Cessna SkyCourier UX™ aircraft that combines Textron Aviation’s proven Cessna SkyCourier platform with Merlin’s aircraft-agnostic software solution for autonomous aviation. Revealed at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference, the concept explores a new cost-efficient and scalable approach to addressing logistical challenges with supplying forces dispersed across contested operational environments when traditional supply routes are constrained, vulnerable or otherwise unavailable. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914611105/en/ The Cessna SkyCourier UX concept explores autonomous resupply operations for dispersed forces operating in contested environments “Military planners are increasingly focused on how to sustain forces across distributed and contested operational environments,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, D
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom