Avigen Announces Approval for AV411 Phase IIa Trial
AV411 is a first-in-class orally bioavailable small molecule, a glial attenuator that suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß, TNFa, and IL-6, and may upregulate the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 . While considered a New Chemical Entity (NCE) in the U.S. and Europe, the drug was first approved in Japan over 15 years ago.
As part of its program investigating glial attenuation as a novel approach to the treatment of neuropathic pain, Avigen discovered that AV411 is efficacious in standard animal models of this condition. While ibudilast was initially developed as a non-selective phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor for the treatment of bronchial asthma, its efficacy in the treatment of neuropathic pain appears to be independent of this activity. Based on its research, Avigen has filed for patents protecting this use of AV411, as well as for patents on AV411 analogs which the company believes have the potential to be effective second generation molecules.
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