In a news release, clinical-stage pharmaceutical development and drug repurposing company Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AGN:CSE; AGNPF:OTCQB; AGW:FSE) announced that "it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Dartmouth College to acquire the rights to a method of use patent for treating neuroendocrine cancers that express functional N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors."
Algernon Pharmaceuticals stated that "neuroendocrine cells integrate the nervous and endocrine systems by receiving neuronal input from nerve cells and releasing hormones into the blood." The company explained that the majority of neuroendocrine tumors typically develop in the appendix, lungs, pancreas, rectum and small intestine.
The firm mentioned that Ifenprodil targets the GluN2B NMDA subunit that neuroendocrine cancer cells have been shown to express and mentioned that it recently established a pancreatic cancer research program specifically for NP-120 (Ifenprodil).
The company highlighted that, as outlined in a recently published research paper written by Dr. William North of Dartmouth College, Ifenprodil was shown to deliver significant anti-tumor effects in a PC animal model. Dr. North's report concluded that Ifenprodil had quickly and substantially reduced the average solid tumor size by around 50% within three days, while tumors in the untreated group doubled in size during the same number of days.
The company advised that the terms of its license agreement with Dartmouth include an initial license fee and maintenance fees, milestone payments and unspecified future sales royalties.
Algernon stated that it intends to file a pre-Investigational New Drug meeting request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss its clinical program design in detail. The company listed that the purpose of the meeting will be to receive guidance from the agency before proceeding to the next phase of development.
The Company's CEO Christopher J. Moreau commented, "We are very pleased with the outcome of our discussions with Dartmouth regarding the research work that was pioneered by Professor North. . .Dartmouth is a world-class center of education, and its close affiliation with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Health Center will be an asset as we move our Ifenprodil-based cancer program forward into clinical trials."
The firm noted that Dartmouth College was established in 1769 and is a renowned institution that offers distinguished academic excellence, top faculty and leading research.
The company indicated that "Ifenprodil is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist specifically targeting the NMDA-type subunit 2B (GluN2B) that prevents glutamate signaling." The company explained that these NMDA receptors are found on lung tissues, T-cells, neutrophils and certain cancer cells.
Algeron is a drug repurposing company that is engaged in discovering new applications for already approved drugs and other natural compounds. The firm may create new formulations and initiate human clinical trials as necessary to secure new or expanded use regulatory approvals in markets worldwide. The company noted that it typically selects compounds for advancement that have never been approved before in Europe or the U.S. to prevent potential off-label prescription writing.
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