NMD Pharma Publishes Comprehensive Data Package for NMD670 in Science Translational Medicine
ClC-1 is a chloride ion channel specifically expressed in skeletal muscle cells that normally dampens muscle fiber excitability and is involved in regulating muscle fiber excitability during exercise
Clinical and preclinical data supports the notion that ClC-1 inhibition is a novel and highly translational therapeutic approach to improve symptoms in myasthenia gravis and, potentially, other diseases with compromised neuromuscular transmission
NMD670, a skeletal muscle targeted ClC-1 inhibitor, is in clinical development for the treatment of patients with generalized myasthenia gravis, spinal muscular atrophy, and Charcot-Marie- Tooth disease
Aarhus, Denmark, 21 March 2024 – NMD Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biotech dedicated to developing novel and improved treatments for patients living with neuromuscular diseases, today announces the peer-reviewed publication of comprehensive data sets demonstrating, for the first time, the ability of CIC-1 inhibition to restore muscle function in patients suffering from myasthenia gravis (MG) and in animal models of MG.
These data are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine in a paper titled ‘First in class CIC-1 inhibitor improves skeletal muscle function in animal models and patients with myasthenia gravis.’ ClC-1 is a skeletal muscle specific chloride ion channel that plays important roles for regulating neuromuscular transmission and muscle fiber excitability during exercise.
NMD Pharma’s lead development candidate, NMD670, a novel, selective, and orally bioavailable ClC-1 inhibiting small molecule, is used in the preclinical and clinical studies. NMD670 is a muscle-targeted therapy which aims to enhance the activation of skeletal muscle fibers and to improve muscle strength and endurance.
Thomas Holm Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer of NMD Pharma and senior author of the paper, commented, “This paper summarizes years of work here at NMD Pharma and Aarhus University, firstly establishing neuromuscular transmission deficits in patients impacted by myasthenia gravis and then demonstrating that ClC-1 inhibition can reverse these deficits and improve the muscle function both in animal models and humans. These data provide important proof-of-mechanism as we progress our Phase 2 trial in spinal muscular atrophy and plan for the initiation of two other Phase 2 trials in AChR and MuSK antibody positive myasthenia gravis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease this year.”
Dr Jorge A. Quiroz, Chief Medical Officer at NMD Pharma, added, “Myasthenia gravis is a rare neuromuscular disease that compromises the signal transmission between motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers. As a result, patients have impaired skeletal muscle function and often experience severe muscle weakness and fatigue. Our aim at NMD Pharma is that our development candidates will reduce the burden and improve the lives of patients suffering from these debilitating neuromuscular diseases.”
Today's publication in Science Translational Medicine highlights the successful translation of preclinical work with NMD670, which restored skeletal muscle function in a rat model of MG, to meaningful improvements in MG patients. It includes the randomized, placebo-controlled, single-dose, 3-way cross-over Phase 2a clinical study, investigating the efficacy, pharmacodynamics, and safety of a single dose of orally administered NMD670 in 12 patents with MG, showing clinically relevant and statistically significant improvements in the Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG) total score alongside a favorable safety profile.
Access the full paper in Science Translational Medicine online here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adk9109
In October 2022, NMD Pharma announced positive topline data which established the first clinical proof-of-mechanism of NMD Pharma’s novel CIC-1 chloride channel inhibitor approach in patients impacted by MG.
In November 2023, NMD Pharma announced that it had raised €75 million (~$80 million) in a Series B financing to complete three Phase 2 studies with NMD670, the Company’s lead ClC-1 inhibitor in AChR and MuSK antibody positive MG, spinal muscular atrophy, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
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Contacts
NMD Pharma A/S
Thomas Holm Pedersen, CEO
E-mail: contact@nmdpharma.com
ICR Consilium
Mary-Jane Elliott / Ashley Tapp / Lindsey Neville
E-mail: NMDPharma@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
About NMD Pharma
NMD Pharma A/S is a clinical-stage biotech company developing a first-in-class platform of small molecule therapies selectively targeting the skeletal muscle chloride ion channel (ClC-1) for the treatment of severe neuromuscular disorders. The Company was founded on more than 15 years of muscle physiology research with a focus on regulation of skeletal muscle excitability under physical activity. NMD Pharma has built a world-leading muscle electrophysiology platform leveraging the in-depth know-how of muscle physiology and muscular disorders, small molecule modulators, enabling technologies and tools as well as in vivo pharmacology models for discovering and developing proprietary modulators of neuromuscular function. The Company has built significant clinical and development expertise as its programmes have progressed through the clinic. NMD Pharma has raised ~€155 million from investors including Novo Holdings, Lundbeckfonden BioCapital, INKEF Capital, Roche Venture Fund, and Jeito Capital. Find out more about us here on our website.