Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals Inc. a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of medicines to treat neurodegenerative, autoimmune and other diseases, today announced the publication of a scientific article in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neuroinflammation highlighting additional data supporting the unique mechanism of action of EHP-101, the company’s first-in-class drug candidate for the treatment of systemic sclerosis and multiple sclerosis.
Titled “A cannabidiol aminoquinone derivative activates the PP2A/B55α/HIF pathway and shows protective effects in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury”, the paper was co-authored by Eduardo Muñoz, MD, PhD, EHP’s Chief Scientific Officer. The publication demonstrates that VCE-004.8, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of EHP-101, is a highly specific activator of the B55a subunit of the protein phosphatase, thus activating the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway. This first-in-class activator of the HIF pathway via modulation of B55a provides a new mechanism to treat diseases where vascular integrity is compromised. Therefore, these findings support the use of EHP-101 for the treatment of SSc and MS, and illustrate the potential of VCE-004.8 for acute disorders including traumatic brain injury and stroke.
“The results of Dr. Muñoz’s work, as published in this prestigious journal, validate EHP-101’s unique ability to address key disease factors associated with the complex pathophysiology of fibrotic and demyelinating diseases such as SSc and MS through complementary specific mechanisms of action,”
Alain Rolland, Pharm.D., Ph.D., COO of EHP
EHP is currently conducting a Phase 2a clinical study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of EHP-101 in SSc patients. The Company has also met the regulatory requirements to start a Phase 2 clinical trial of EHP-101 for MS.
About Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals is developing novel product candidates for the treatment of CNS, autoimmune, and other diseases. The Company has two families of patented new chemical entities that have been created through rational drug design to affect validated receptors and pathways in the body which are pertinent to targeted
diseases. Its first drug product candidate, EHP-101, is in a Phase 2a study for the treatment of systemic sclerosis, a severe form of scleroderma, and has met regulatory requirements to start a Phase 2 study for multiple sclerosis. EHP-101 has received Orphan Drug Designation in the US and EU, as well as Fast Track status by the US FDA for systemic sclerosis.
The Company’s second product candidate, EHP-102, is in non-clinical development with IND-enabling studies and is focused on treating Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. EHP-102 has received Orphan Drug Designation in the US and EU for Huntington’s disease.