- First patients dosed in a Phase 1 study evaluating MES1022, a subcutaneous bone-selective EP4-agonist for bone regeneration
- $15M in funding raised to date to support clinical trial
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mesentech, a biotech company developing novel tissue-selective therapies to treat bone diseases, announced today that it has dosed the first patients in its Phase 1 study for MES1022, a bone regeneration drug which enhances efficacy and avoids systemic exposure and side-effects by selectively distributing to bony tissues.
Efficient drug delivery into bones remains a barrier in developing treatments for diseases of bone. The bone is a complex, dynamic tissue with unique properties that make it a formidable challenge for drug efficient penetration.
Mesentech’s tissue-selective prodrug technology overcomes the challenge by delivering drugs directly to bone. The company successfully dosed the first patients via subcutaneous injection in a Phase 1 study evaluating MES1022, a bone-selective EP4 receptor agonist prodrug they are developing for bone regeneration, with the first application for accelerating healing of bone fractures. A second program using tissue-targeting technology is in development for bone cancers such as osteosarcoma or bone metastases.
MES1022 is a prodrug that distributes selectively to bone and delivers a potent prostaglandin mimetic by sustained release. MES1022 has been shown to stimulate bone-regeneration and secondary muscle growth following once-weekly systemic administration.
“MES1022 will potentially be the first non-biologic pharmaceutical marketed primarily to orthopedic surgeons,” said Jonathan Polak, CEO, Mesentech. “MES1022 will give surgeons treatment options to rescue a failed surgical patient, without having to resort to revision surgery. With continued research and development, our tissue-selective prodrugs are poised to transform the treatment of previously untreatable bone disorders, by precisely delivering medications to bone to improve safety and efficacy.”
"Even the most advanced medical devices and implant technologies do not address the underlying biological factors for bone healing,” said David Dvorak, Chairman, Mesentech board of directors and former President and CEO, Zimmer Biomet. “MES1022 is well-positioned to be the first therapy that mimics and enhances the natural processes the body uses to stimulate bone repair and healing. This novel therapy will potentially enable orthopedic surgeons to spare their patients from painful and expensive revision surgeries, which carry additional risks and prolonged recovery times.”
“Mesentech was founded upon more than 30 years of research starting from observations of the bone anabolic effects of prostaglandins by my mentor, Dr. Gideon Rodan, the world-renowned scientist who spear-headed development of the osteoporosis drug, Fosamax™,” said Robert Young, Ph.D., Founder and President, Mesentech.
Founder and President, Dr. Robert Young, led the discovery of life-changing therapeutics such as Singulair® and Arcoxia® during his tenure as Head of Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery at Merck Frosst, the Canadian research division of Merck & Co. Mesentech’s board of directors includes Barbara Yanni, Former Chief Licensing Officer, Merck & Co., David Dvorak, former President and CEO, Zimmer Biomet, Sam Wu, CBO of Blue Lake Biotechnology and Jay Mohr, Chief Business and Financial Officer, New York Blood Center. The company also announced it has raised a total of $15M in financing to date.
About Mesentech
Mesentech is a biotechnology company developing new therapies to treat diseases and conditions of the bone using tissue selective technologies. Its lead candidate MES1022 is a bone-selective EP4-agonist for fracture healing. Other pipeline programs utilizing tissue-targeting prodrug technology are in development for bone cancers, and osseointegration of orthopedic implants. Mesentech is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.mesentech.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
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Kimberly Ha
KKH Advisors
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kimberly.ha@kkhadvisors.com