NeuroSearch
Encyclopedia
NeuroSearch is a Scandinavian biopharmaceutical company with its headquarters in Ballerup, Denmark and facilities in Gothenburg, Sweden. The primary activities of the company are focused on the discovery and development of new, unique pharmaceuticals that offer better treatment for patients with central nervous system
(CNS) disorders. CNS disorders comprise neurological conditions such as Huntington’s
, Parkinson’s
and Alzheimer’s diseases, neuropathic pain
and epilepsy
, and psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety
, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) and schizophrenia
. NeuroSearch has also started building expertise related to the registration, marketing and sales of specialty CNS drugs.
The core business of NeuroSearch is based on a comprehensive and well-established drug discovery platform with renowned competencies in the fields of ion channel
and monoamine
system modulation. This platform has provided the basis for a number of partnerships with major international pharmaceutical companies, which through the years have contributed substantially to financing of the company's activities and to building of the product pipeline.
The company has extensive experience in preclinical and clinical development of CNS drugs, and the pipeline currently comprises two candidates in, or ready for, phase 3 development (pridopidine, a specialist drug for the treatment of Huntington’s disease, and tesofensine
, for the treatment of obesity
), one drug candidate in phase 2 development in partnership with Abbott (ABT-894 for ADHD), two drug candidates in preparation for phase 2 development and three drug candidates in phase 1 development. In addition, several drug pipeline products are in preclinical development.
NeuroSearch is listed on NASDAQ OMX
Copenhagen A/S under the ticker symbol NEUR.CO.
hot-spot area around Copenhagen and Malmö. Since then, the company has grown substantially from a few employees to a staff of approximately 230, and has built a comprehensive portfolio of intellectual property in the area of overlap between CNS disorders and ion channel and monoamine transporter system modulation. Since the beginning, the drug pipeline has been continuously expanded and progressed, partly through collaborations and strategic alliances with major pharmaceutical companies. In 2007, NeuroSearch moved into big biotech and was named as one of the top 10 listed European biotech companies.
In 2006, three drug candidates from a novel class of compounds called dopaminergic stabilizers were added to the development pipeline through the acquisition of Carlsson Research AB, a privately owned Swedish company. Since then, the most advanced of these candidates, Huntexil, has been shown to be successful as a novel treatment for Huntington’s disease. In 2010, NeuroSearch reported positive results from MermaiHD (Multinational EuRopean Multicentre ACR16 study In Huntington’s Disease), the first study in the Huntexil phase 3 programme. The results of this large European study, which examined the effects of Huntexil in almost 440 patients with Huntington’s disease, showed that Huntexil significantly improved global motor function after 6 months of treatment and had a very good safety profile.
To add to this success, NeuroSearch also achieved breakthrough results in 2007 with tesofensine, a drug targeted at the treatment of obesity. In 2008, results demonstrating significant weight loss compared with placebo
were published in The Lancet
. The investigators concluded that tesofensine could produce at least twice the weight loss of currently approved anti-obesity drugs and should be evaluated in phase 3 trials.
In addition, NeuroSearch has a broad portfolio of preclinical drug candidates and holds equity interests in several biotech companies.
Central nervous system
The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...
(CNS) disorders. CNS disorders comprise neurological conditions such as Huntington’s
Huntington's disease
Huntington's disease, chorea, or disorder , is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and dementia. It typically becomes noticeable in middle age. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea...
, Parkinson’s
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
and Alzheimer’s diseases, neuropathic pain
Neuropathic pain
Neuropathic pain results from lesions or diseases affecting the somatosensory system. It may be associated with abnormal sensations called dysesthesia, which occur spontaneously and allodynia that occurs in response to external stimuli. Neuropathic pain may have continuous and/or episodic ...
and epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, and psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a developmental disorder. It is primarily characterized by "the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone" and symptoms starting before seven years of age.ADHD is the most commonly studied and...
(ADHD) and schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. NeuroSearch has also started building expertise related to the registration, marketing and sales of specialty CNS drugs.
The core business of NeuroSearch is based on a comprehensive and well-established drug discovery platform with renowned competencies in the fields of ion channel
Ion channel
Ion channels are pore-forming proteins that help establish and control the small voltage gradient across the plasma membrane of cells by allowing the flow of ions down their electrochemical gradient. They are present in the membranes that surround all biological cells...
and monoamine
Monoamine neurotransmitter
thumb|right|350px| A phylogenetic tree showing how a number of monoamine receptors are related to each other.Monoamine neurotransmitters are neurotransmitters and neuromodulators that contain one amino group that is connected to an aromatic ring by a two-carbon chain...
system modulation. This platform has provided the basis for a number of partnerships with major international pharmaceutical companies, which through the years have contributed substantially to financing of the company's activities and to building of the product pipeline.
The company has extensive experience in preclinical and clinical development of CNS drugs, and the pipeline currently comprises two candidates in, or ready for, phase 3 development (pridopidine, a specialist drug for the treatment of Huntington’s disease, and tesofensine
Tesofensine
Tesofensine is a serotonin–noradrenaline–dopamine reuptake inhibitor from the phenyltropane family of drugs, which is being developed for the treatment of obesity...
, for the treatment of obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
), one drug candidate in phase 2 development in partnership with Abbott (ABT-894 for ADHD), two drug candidates in preparation for phase 2 development and three drug candidates in phase 1 development. In addition, several drug pipeline products are in preclinical development.
NeuroSearch is listed on NASDAQ OMX
NASDAQ OMX Group
NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is a United States public company that owns and operates the NASDAQ stock market and eight European stock exchanges in Armenia plus the Nordic and Baltic regions under the OMX banner...
Copenhagen A/S under the ticker symbol NEUR.CO.
History
NeuroSearch was founded in Denmark in April 1989 as one of the first pioneering companies in the Medicon ValleyMedicon Valley
Medicon Valley is a leading bi-national life-sciences cluster in Europe, spanning the Øresund Region of eastern Denmark and southern Sweden. It is one of Europe's strongest life science clusters with a large number of life science companies and research institutions located within a very small...
hot-spot area around Copenhagen and Malmö. Since then, the company has grown substantially from a few employees to a staff of approximately 230, and has built a comprehensive portfolio of intellectual property in the area of overlap between CNS disorders and ion channel and monoamine transporter system modulation. Since the beginning, the drug pipeline has been continuously expanded and progressed, partly through collaborations and strategic alliances with major pharmaceutical companies. In 2007, NeuroSearch moved into big biotech and was named as one of the top 10 listed European biotech companies.
In 2006, three drug candidates from a novel class of compounds called dopaminergic stabilizers were added to the development pipeline through the acquisition of Carlsson Research AB, a privately owned Swedish company. Since then, the most advanced of these candidates, Huntexil, has been shown to be successful as a novel treatment for Huntington’s disease. In 2010, NeuroSearch reported positive results from MermaiHD (Multinational EuRopean Multicentre ACR16 study In Huntington’s Disease), the first study in the Huntexil phase 3 programme. The results of this large European study, which examined the effects of Huntexil in almost 440 patients with Huntington’s disease, showed that Huntexil significantly improved global motor function after 6 months of treatment and had a very good safety profile.
To add to this success, NeuroSearch also achieved breakthrough results in 2007 with tesofensine, a drug targeted at the treatment of obesity. In 2008, results demonstrating significant weight loss compared with placebo
Placebo
A placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient...
were published in The Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
. The investigators concluded that tesofensine could produce at least twice the weight loss of currently approved anti-obesity drugs and should be evaluated in phase 3 trials.
Products
NeuroSearch has significant preclinical and clinical drug development experience, and their drug discovery platform has provided the basis for collaborations with a number of large international pharmaceutical companies. The current pipeline includes several novel drug candidates in the advanced stages of clinical development, in the fields of neurology, psychiatry and obesity.- Huntexil for Huntington’s disease (currently in phase 3 development): results from a phase 3 study show improvements in motor function, with positive effects on both voluntary and involuntary motor symptoms of the disease, and suggest that Huntexil may potentially modify disease progression. Huntington’s disease is a hereditary and fatal neurodegenerative disorder, affecting an estimated 70 000 patients in Europe and North America combined. It leads to a broad range of severe motor, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms; no effective therapy is currently available. NeuroSearch holds the global commercial rights to Huntexil, which has orphan drugOrphan drugAn orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent that has been developed specifically to treat a rare medical condition, the condition itself being referred to as an orphan disease...
status with both the US Food and Drug AdministrationFood and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
(FDA) and the European Medicines AgencyEuropean Medicines AgencyThe European Medicines Agency is a European agency for the evaluation of medicinal products. From 1995 to 2004, the European Medicines Agency was known as European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products.Roughly parallel to the U.S...
(EMA). - Tesofensine for obesity (ready for clinical phase 3 development).
- ABT-894 for ADHD (in collaboration with Abbott Laboratories; phase 2).
- ACR343 for schizophrenia (ready for clinical phase 2 development).
- ACR325 for dyskinesiaDyskinesiaDyskinesia is a movement disorder which consists of effects including diminished voluntary movements and the presence of involuntary movements, similar to tics or choreia. Dyskinesia can be anything from a slight tremor of the hands to uncontrollable movement of, most commonly, the upper body but...
s in Parkinson’s disease (phase 1b). - ABT-560 for cognitive dysfunctionCognitive dysfunctionCognitive dysfunction is defined as unusually poor mental function, associated with confusion, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating...
(in collaboration with Abbott Laboratories; phase 1). - NSD-788 for anxiety and depression (phase 1).
- NSD-721 for social anxiety disorderSocial anxiety disorderSocial anxiety disorder , also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear in social situations causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some parts of daily life...
(phase 1).
In addition, NeuroSearch has a broad portfolio of preclinical drug candidates and holds equity interests in several biotech companies.