4D invests in autism research partnership
BIO-medical research company 4D Pharma, has announced a partnership project to look at the impact of potential applications of its science on autism.
The Manchester-based group, which has really found favour with investors’ since listing on AIM in 2014 (shares are up five-fold from £2 to more than £10), said it is working with the APC Nicrobiome Institute at University College Cok, Ireland.
It has entered into a €4.8m (£3.4m) project over four years with the institute.
4D said the focus of the project will be to research the potential applications of live biotherapeutics in relation to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and associated CNS (Central Nervous System) Disorders ). The programme will focus on strains identified as potentially therapeutically relevant by its MicroRx platform.
The prevalence of ASD is estimated to be around 1 in 70 children with reported cases steadily increasing since the 1960s.
The comapny said: “Although the genetic basis of a minority of cases is known, the disease pathways and mechanisms are poorly understood, presenting a significant challenge to drug discovery.
“Current pharmaceutical treatment options focus on managing the abnormal behaviour associated with autism. More than 50% of children in the US diagnosed with ASD are prescribed psychoactive drugs or anticonvulsants, with the most common drug types being antipsychotics, stimulants and antidepressants.”
It added that there are currently only two approved drugs in the US market for the treatment of ASD. Both of these treatments are antipsychotics originally approved for other neurological indications, both have significant side effects and both only address non-core symptoms such as irritability.
The ASD therapeutics market was worth $1.44bn in 2012, with the US accounting for 98% of the market.
Duncan Peyton, chief executive of 4D said: “The collaboration brings together the world leading research at the APC on the effects of the microbiome on cognitive function with our proprietary Micro Rx platform to target ASD.
“There is a high unmet medical need for safe and efficacious therapies which treat the core symptoms of ASD.
“Over the last 18 months we have been able to show the importance of live biotherapeutics as potential treatments for diseases such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis and asthma. Using our proprietary Micro Rx platform this work has led to rapid identification of candidates that are now undergoing a development programme prior to human trials.
“We believe the collaboration with the APC will further the understanding and treatment of diseases such as ASD with live biotherapeutics and reinforce the emergence of this new therapeutic class.”
The project will be led at the APC Microbiome Institute by Professors John Cryan and Ted Dinan, whose research on the brain-gut-microbiota axis has far reaching public health implications.
