Products/Pipeline
F573
Drug description
A di-peptide pan-caspase irreversible inhibitor for Acute Liver Failure and Acute-on-chronic Liver Failure
Purpose of use
F573 is a dipeptide compound developed by the US company EpiCept (now Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc.) as a liver cell death inhibitor with a strong and irreversible inhibitory effect on caspases, enzymes that play a central role in cell death and inflammatory responses. China is one of the world’s largest markets for liver disease due to infection with the Hepatitis B virus. In the final stage of severe hepatitis, there is a possibility of large-scale hepatocyte death, and apart from existing antiviral drugs, the remaining option of liver transplantation is an extremely expensive last resort, making the urgent development of new drugs highly desirable.
Clinical development
The Company has acquired development rights in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Following F573’s demonstration of potent inhibition of cell death and improved survival rates in various animal models of liver failure, the Company submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) to the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration (Shanghai FDA) in July 2011. Phase 2 clinical trials are currently ongoing.
Research and Development Activities
Our group’s drug discovery research is centered on our subsidiary Cullgen, which is engaged in the exploration and research of innovative new drug candidate compounds. Cullgen is advancing research and development to expand its drug discovery pipeline, including multiple new compounds targeting enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins for cancer, pain, and autoimmune diseases. We currently have identified 8 development candidate compounds and have 9 development programs, of which 3 programs are already in Phase 1 clinical trials.
Current clinical development is focused on lung, liver, and kidney fibrosis as a priority disease area. Lung cancer and liver cirrhosis are particularly common in Asia, leading to high morbidity and mortality rates. Many new cases are reported every year in China alone, but unfortunately, treatment options remain limited.