News & Events
< Back to News Overview
Cortical Pty Ltd Presents MIF Antagonist Data at World Congress on Inflammation
29 / 08 / 2005
Melbourne-based discovery research and development company Cortical Pty Ltd will be presenting pre-clinical data on its anti-inflammatory compound COR100140 at the 7th World Congress on Inflammation held in Melbourne, Australia 20-24 August 2005.
Cortical has developed small molecule antagonists of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) - a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in many human inflammatory diseases and cancer, including rheumatoid arthritis, colitis,
atherosclerosis, and multiple sclerosis.
Data on COR100140 - one of Cortical's MIF antagonist compounds - will be presented by Eric Morand, M.D. Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Cortical at a presentation entitled "Efficacy of a Novel, Orally Active MIF Antagonist in a Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis" on 21 August 2005.
In an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, oral treatment with this compound was effective in significantly reducing joint swelling and histological evidence of inflammation and damage in the joint. A well-known drug on the market etanercept was not effective in this model. "The data strongly supports the
development of MIF antagonist compounds as drugs against rheumatoid arthritis," said Dr Morand.
Additional data on COR100140 will also be presented at the World Congress on Inflammation in a poster entitled "MIF is Expressed During Development of Atherosclerotic Lesions in ApoE-/- Mice and an Orally Active MIF Inhibitor
Attenuates atherosclerosis development" by Michael Ditiatkovski of the Baker Heart Research Institute. In specially bred mice prone to developing atherosclerosis, the researchers at the Baker Institute demonstrated that serum MIF expression increased as atherosclerotic lesions increased in size.
Treatment with this compound significantly reduced lesion size by 50% compared to vehicle treated mice.
"We believe this is the first time MIF antagonist compounds have
demonstrated activity in animal models of atherosclerosis. This exciting data indicates that MIF antagonist compounds could be developed into a novel class of drugs against atheroma," stated Dr Morand.
"Coronary heart disease from atherosclerosis remains the leading cause of death in the United States and in Australia. MIF antagonists could provide doctors and patients with another weapon to combat this disease," explained Su-Peing Ng MD, MBA, CEO of Cortical.
"The interest in MIF as an inflammatory target continues to expand. At the World Congress on Inflammation, there will be at least 10 posters and 6 oral presentations on MIF from researchers around the world."
"COR100140 is one of a series of compounds Cortical is developing as novel
first-in-class small molecule cytokine antagonists. The data we have
generated provides compelling evidence of the strength of Cortical's MIF antagonist development program," stated Dr Ng. "These pre-clinical studies are an important part of the development process that takes Cortical closer to its goal of initiating human clinical trials," Dr Ng added.
About MIF
MIF is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a role in many human inflammatory diseases and cancer, including rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, atheroma, and multiple sclerosis. Cortical's small molecule MIF antagonist has potential application in these conditions.
Treatment of inflammatory diseases in the past has been non-specific, based on broad-spectrum immunosuppressant drugs such as corticosteroids. Though beneficial, these drugs have universal side effects, which limit their use.
Small molecule cytokine antagonists have never previously been developed for therapeutic use, but may provide a valuable combination of effectiveness in treatment, potential oral administration, and relatively low cost - which may allow more patients to receive the treatment.
About Cortical
Cortical is a Melbourne-based discovery research and development company, which was spun out of Monash University in 2003. Cortical's mission is to produce small-molecule solutions to therapeutic targets in inflammation, an
Cortical has developed small molecule antagonists of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) - a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in many human inflammatory diseases and cancer, including rheumatoid arthritis, colitis,
atherosclerosis, and multiple sclerosis.
Data on COR100140 - one of Cortical's MIF antagonist compounds - will be presented by Eric Morand, M.D. Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Cortical at a presentation entitled "Efficacy of a Novel, Orally Active MIF Antagonist in a Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis" on 21 August 2005.
In an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, oral treatment with this compound was effective in significantly reducing joint swelling and histological evidence of inflammation and damage in the joint. A well-known drug on the market etanercept was not effective in this model. "The data strongly supports the
development of MIF antagonist compounds as drugs against rheumatoid arthritis," said Dr Morand.
Additional data on COR100140 will also be presented at the World Congress on Inflammation in a poster entitled "MIF is Expressed During Development of Atherosclerotic Lesions in ApoE-/- Mice and an Orally Active MIF Inhibitor
Attenuates atherosclerosis development" by Michael Ditiatkovski of the Baker Heart Research Institute. In specially bred mice prone to developing atherosclerosis, the researchers at the Baker Institute demonstrated that serum MIF expression increased as atherosclerotic lesions increased in size.
Treatment with this compound significantly reduced lesion size by 50% compared to vehicle treated mice.
"We believe this is the first time MIF antagonist compounds have
demonstrated activity in animal models of atherosclerosis. This exciting data indicates that MIF antagonist compounds could be developed into a novel class of drugs against atheroma," stated Dr Morand.
"Coronary heart disease from atherosclerosis remains the leading cause of death in the United States and in Australia. MIF antagonists could provide doctors and patients with another weapon to combat this disease," explained Su-Peing Ng MD, MBA, CEO of Cortical.
"The interest in MIF as an inflammatory target continues to expand. At the World Congress on Inflammation, there will be at least 10 posters and 6 oral presentations on MIF from researchers around the world."
"COR100140 is one of a series of compounds Cortical is developing as novel
first-in-class small molecule cytokine antagonists. The data we have
generated provides compelling evidence of the strength of Cortical's MIF antagonist development program," stated Dr Ng. "These pre-clinical studies are an important part of the development process that takes Cortical closer to its goal of initiating human clinical trials," Dr Ng added.
About MIF
MIF is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a role in many human inflammatory diseases and cancer, including rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, atheroma, and multiple sclerosis. Cortical's small molecule MIF antagonist has potential application in these conditions.
Treatment of inflammatory diseases in the past has been non-specific, based on broad-spectrum immunosuppressant drugs such as corticosteroids. Though beneficial, these drugs have universal side effects, which limit their use.
Small molecule cytokine antagonists have never previously been developed for therapeutic use, but may provide a valuable combination of effectiveness in treatment, potential oral administration, and relatively low cost - which may allow more patients to receive the treatment.
About Cortical
Cortical is a Melbourne-based discovery research and development company, which was spun out of Monash University in 2003. Cortical's mission is to produce small-molecule solutions to therapeutic targets in inflammation, an