SYDNEY: Nyrada Inc (ASX: NYR), a preclinical stage, drug development company specialising in novel small molecule drugs to treat cardiovascular and neurological diseases, announced that its newest brain injury drug candidate, NYR-BI02 has shown excellent oral bioavailability and has been selected to advance into the Company’s Phase I first-in-human study.
NYR-BI02 is the result of modifications made to NYR-BI01, improving the compound’s overall drug-like properties.
There is currently no FDA approved drug to treat secondary brain injury caused by TBI and stroke. Recent exploratory pharmacokinetic studies undertaken as part of Nyrada’s medicinal chemistry program revealed excellent oral bioavailability of NYR-BI02, indicating that Nyrada’s drug has the potential to be administered orally to patients who suffer a concussion, where intravenous infusion is not preferred. The convenience of an oral dose form that can be administered in the field immediately after a concussion injury, without having to wait for hospitalisation, has the potential to significantly improve patient recovery outcomes.
Nyrada CEO, James Bonnar said: “The oral bioavailability of NYR-BI02 opens the door for its development as an oral treatment for concussion, which accounts for around 85% of all TBIs. While Nyrada remains focused on the development of our drug for moderate-severe TBI and stroke which would be administered intravenously, pursuing NYR-BI02’s development as an oral treatment for concussion is an additional program we may consider, given the significant interest in this area and the positive effect it could have on patient outcomes.”
Optimisation of NYR-BI01 has led to an improved candidate NYR-BI02, which has a superior pharmacokinetic profile, meaning it is absorbed, metabolised, and cleared in a manner that supports oral dosing.
Furthermore, we have confirmed that NYR-BI02 readily crosses the blood-brain-barrier, providing assurance that it should reach therapeutic levels in the brain. www.nyrada.com/site/content/