Karo Bio receives funding from the National MS Society to develop ERbeta Agonists for treatment of progressive MS(13/09/13)

Karo Bio AB has been awarded $0,5 million from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through Fast Forward to develop a novel treatment – ERbeta agonists -- for progressive forms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The funds will finance the further preclinical development of Karo Bio’s advanced compounds.

Karo Bio’s ERbeta agonist has the potential to slow disease progression in multiple sclerosis as preclinical models show that it protects neurons and restores myelin. Damaged myelin leads tosymptoms of illness and disability in MS patients. This intended profile differs dramatically from currently approved MS therapies, which are used for the treatment of relapsing MS and reduce inflammation, but do not restore myelin or directly protect neurons.

“We are very pleased to have received this funding from the National MS Society to support our efforts to address important unmet medical needs among MS patients” says Per Bengtsson, CEO of Karo Bio. “Our aim is to achieve a significant breakthrough in the treatment of MS.”

This investment by the National MS Society is a continuation of a strategic research focus on gender differences in MS. That effort helped drive basic research into the role of sex hormones, and estrogen in particular. Karo Bio’s development of ERbeta agonists reflects the potential of this approach, and fits the Society’s comprehensive strategy to stop the progression of disability in MS and to restore function.

About Karo Bio

Karo Bio is a pharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of innovative drugs for large medical needs. The world-leading knowledge of nuclear receptors as target proteins for the development of pharmaceuticals and the related mechanisms of action, are utilized as a foundation for developing novel, more effective and safer pharmaceuticals. The company runs drug development projects mainly within the therapeutic areas neuropsychiatry, inflammation, autoimmune diseases and cancer. The company has a number of strategic agreements and collaborations with international pharmaceutical companies. Karo Bio is based in Huddinge, Sweden, has 42 employees.

Source: PipelineReview.com © by La Merie Publishing (13/09/13)