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Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB announces selection of candidate drug for treatment of elevated blood lipids
Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB ("Lipigon"), develops novel treatments for patients with lipid-related diseases. The candidate drug (CD) Lipisense is a first-in-class treatment and has shown unique efficacy in experimental disease models. The project now enters pre-clinical safety development.
Lipigon selects candidate drug in the front runner project Lipisense which aims at treating elevated levels of plasma lipid triglycerides. The candidate is being developed for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia and the rare disease Familial Chylomicronemia Syndrome (FCS) where treatment options are limited. These diseases may lead to the painful and potential life-threatening syndrome acute pancreatitis.
The selected candidate drug is an RNA-drug that hinders the cellular production of the diseaseassociated target protein ANGPTL4 in the liver. By destroying protein-coding RNA before translation, the target protein is never expressed. ANGPTL4 has a strong genetical validation and correlates with harmful plasma lipids and associated diseases.
The candidate Lipisense affects a unique mechanism, central for the regulation of plasma triglycerides and other plasma lipids. Lipisense was developed in collaboration with Secarna Pharmaceuticals GmbH & Co. KG and has shown strong efficacy in disease models and a good safety profile in preliminary safety studies.
The company will now continue preclinical development with IND enabling studies. CMC activities have commenced via a contract manufacturer in the United States.
CEO Stefan K Nilsson comments:
"Choosing a candidate drug in our front runner project Lipisense is a major step for Lipigon. The unique mechanism of action opens the possibility for an attractive clinical development path where we can address both smaller indications, which do not require extensive clinical studies, and larger indications, which are more suitable for big pharma development. We are looking forward to continuing the preclinical safety development of Lipisense."
Umeå 21 December 2020
For more information, please contact:
Stefan K Nilsson, CEO, +46 70 578 17 68, stefan@lipigon.se
About Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB
Lipigon develops novel therapeutics for patients with lipid-related disorders. The company is based on five decades of basic lipid research at Umeå University, Sweden. Our primary focus is indications with orphan drug designations and niche indications, but in the future the company can expand to broader cardiometabolic indications. Lipigon's pipeline includes four active projects: the RNA-drug Lipisense, for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia; an RNA-drug for treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome; gene therapy treatment for lipodystrophy, together with Combigene AB (publ); and a small molecule program for treatment of dyslipidemia in collaboration with HitGen (Inc).