With Purdue Pharma plotting a future beyond the bankruptcy proceedings now consuming the company, its drug development subsidiary Imbrium Therapeutics has secured global rights to a drug candidate that could play a role in the move beyond opioids.
Imbrium has bought a non-opioid treatment for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) from PureTech Health. The Purdue subsidiary is paying $6.5 million upfront to exercise its option on the asset under the terms of an agreement struck in 2019 and committing to up to $53 million in milestones tied to the development of the candidate.
Alivio Therapeutics, which PureTech recently took full ownership of, developed the lidocaine-based candidate using its chronic and acute inflammatory disorder platform. The asset is one of several discovered by Alivio that is designed to selectively bind to inflamed tissues to treat inflammatory disorders.
PureTech previously disclosed plans to file an IND for the candidate, then known as ALV-107 and now called IMB-150, this year. Imbrium will now take charge of the clinical evaluation of the candidate.
“We continue to diversify our portfolio with non-opioid treatments for pain and are pleased to progress this novel lidocaine-based drug candidate, made using the Alivio technology, into clinical testing,” Julie Ducharme, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Purdue, said in a statement.
IMB-150 has advanced to the cusp of the clinic on the strength of data from a preclinical model that linked it to statistically significant pain relief compared to control at two hours, four hours and 24 hours. Conventional lidocaine only drove statistically significant pain relief at Hour 2.
The preclinical evidence has persuaded Imbrium that IMB-150 may have a future in the treatment of IC/BPS, a chronic bladder condition associated with pain and discomfort. Imbrium estimates IC may affect up to 12 million people in the U.S., although, with only 7% of patients receiving a confirmed diagnosis, the market could be considerably smaller until more individuals get tested and treated.