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Monday, July 6, 2009

Pharmaleads’ PL37 lead candidate for pain enters Phase I

PharmaleadsParis, October 1st, 2008 - Pharmaleads has obtained from the French Medicine Agency (AFSSAPS) the authorization to perform a single ascending dose Phase I study with PL37, its lead compound for oral treatment of neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain is a major chronic pain condition, with an estimated prevalence in the world’s population of up to 6%, according to the most recent surveys, with many causes such as shingles, herpes, diabetes, antiviral or antitumor chemotherapy surgery, or low back disorders. Neuropathic pain does not respond well to usual painkillers. Worldwide market for neuropathic pain is estimated to reach 5 billion USD by 2010.
This compound originates from the work of Pharmaleads’ chief scientists, Professors Bernard P. Roques and Marie-Claude Fournié-Zaluski, and is a dual inhibitor of both enzymes responsible for the rapid degradation of enkephalins, the endogenous opiates. It therefore elicits an analgesic effect wherever enkephalins are produced as a response to a painful stimulus, and maintains a high level of these natural analgesic substances by preventing their rapid degradation...

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About Pharmaleads:

Pharmaleads is a pharmaceutical company focusing on research and early development of small molecules. Headquartered in Paris, France, Pharmaleads was founded in 2001 by Professors Bernard P. Roques, pharmacist and PhD in chemistry, Member of the French Academy of Sciences, and Marie-Claude Fournié-Zaluski, PhD in chemistry, both of them inventors of drugs (2 on the market). They were joined in 2004 by Thierry Bourbié, alumnus from Polytechnique and Mines, PhD from Stanford, former Deputy General Manager, Suez Group and Jean-Pierre Rogala, PhD from Agro, MBA from MIT (IBM, Suez Group). They were able to bring in their first rank international business expertise to fully unleash the world-class capabilities of the company in pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. In 2006, Michel Wurm, M.D. joined and added his extensive experience in drug and business development... Pharmaleads' Press Release -