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
Quaise Energy Raises $134 Million in Initial Close of Series B to Build World’s First Superhot Geothermal Power Plant7.7.2026 15:01:00 EEST | Press release
Quaise Energy, a leading developer of utility-scale superhot geothermal energy, today announced the first close of its Series B financing, raising $134 million with additional equity and debt capital expected to close imminently. The round was led by Prelude Ventures, with strategic investments from JERA and Idemitsu, two of Japan's largest energy companies. Nearly all existing investors, including Safar Partners, participated in the round. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707844187/en/ The proceeds from Series B will fund Project Obsidian, the world’s first commercial superhot geothermal power plant, and the continued development and commercialization of Quaise's millimeter wave drilling system towards depths in excess of 5 km. Project-level equity and debt financing is concurrently being raised as the company advances toward first revenues secured by yet-undisclosed commercial off-take partners. The Series
Biocytogen and Whitehawk Therapeutics Enter Global Collaboration for Bispecific Antibody ADC Development7.7.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Biocytogen (SSE: 688796; HKEX: 02315) and Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc. (“Whitehawk,” Nasdaq: WHWK) today announced a global collaboration to develop bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (BsADC). Biocytogen will provide access to up to five bispecific antibodies using its proprietary RenLite® platform, and Whitehawk will evaluate these in combination with its ADC linker-payload platform technologies. Whitehawk then has the option to advance any resulting BsADC candidates as part of its pipeline. Based on a common light-chain design, RenLite® supports the discovery, screening, and optimization of fully human bispecific antibodies across diverse target combinations, while reducing the risk of light-chain mispairing and providing a robust molecular foundation for subsequent BsADC development. By bringing together the complementary capabilities of Biocytogen and Whitehawk, the collaboration aims to identify BsADC candidates with differentiated targeting profiles and therapeutic potential. “W
UMA Unveils Its Vision for the Next Generation of Humanoid Robots7.7.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
At Machina Summit, UMA, a Physical AI company, unveiled the design of its first humanoid robot and introduced Real-Time Learning, a learning architecture that enables robots to acquire new skills through demonstration instead of manual programming. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707215927/en/ The announcement comes as aging populations, industrial reshoring, and the energy transition place increasing pressure on labor markets across advanced economies. According to Korn Ferry, the global economy could face a shortage of 85 million workers by 2030, representing as much as $8.5 trillion in unrealized economic output. Against this backdrop, UMA is developing a new generation of intelligent robots built to assist people by taking on physically demanding, repetitive, or hazardous work. "Demographic, industrial, and environmental challenges all point to the same reality: societies need greater productive capacit
Bregal Milestone III Closes at its Increased Hard Cap of €915 Million7.7.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Bregal Milestone (“Milestone” or the “Firm”), a leading European software private equity firm, today announced the final close of its third fund, Bregal Milestone III (“Fund III” or the “Fund”), at its increased hard cap of €915 million. The Fund was oversubscribed and marks a significant broadening of the Firm’s global investor base. Completed in eight months from first close and achieved against a challenging fundraising environment, the result reflects the strength of Milestone’s AI-centric approach and demonstrable track record. Jan Bruennler, Philippe Lautenberg and Cyrus Shey, Co-Founders and Managing Partners at Bregal Milestone, commented: “Bregal Milestone III reflects strong conviction in our approach to investing in mission-critical European software, AI and cybersecurity businesses and helping them scale. We are thankful for the support and confidence shown by our limited partners, both longstanding and new, and remain focused on executing the strategy that has defined Mile
HTEC and Embotech Partner to Scale Deployment of Autonomous Driving Solutions for Industrial Logistics7.7.2026 13:39:00 EEST | Press release
HTEC, a global technology and AI engineering company headquartered in Silicon Valley, and Embotech, a global leader in safety-certified Level 4 autonomous driving solutions for industrial logistics, today announced a strategic partnership to scale deployment of Embotech's autonomous driving solutions across vehicle platforms, customer programmes and industrial sites. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707870943/en/ HTEC, a global technology and AI engineering company headquartered in Silicon Valley, and Embotech, a global leader in safety-certified Level 4 autonomous driving solutions for industrial logistics, today announced a strategic partnership to scale deployment of Embotech's autonomous driving solutions across vehicle platforms, customer programmes and industrial sites. The partnership comes as Embotech’s proven autonomous driving solutions are being adopted across a growing number of vehicle platforms
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