Nanologica acknowledges World Diabetes Day
November 14 marks the date for the World Diabetes Day. For Nanologica, the day is highly relevant as the Company is working with solutions for diabetes related issues in both its business areas.
Diabetes is a disease affecting more than 400 million people worldwide, a number that is expected to increase to more than 640 million by 2040. In 2015 diabetes was the cause of 5 million deaths and more than 200 million people are estimated to be affected by the disease without knowing it. Most diabetic patients require insulin to be able to survive, but as insulin is expensive, many cannot afford the medication.
Nanologica’s business area of chromatography is addressing this issue by supplying a product that reduce the cost for production of insulin. The purpose is making insulin available to more patients in need worldwide. Nanologica’s proprietary silica is used in the insulin production step of purifying the insulin from impurities. The strength of Nanologica’s silica, compared to competitors, is that it manages to carry out the purification in fewer steps than competitors, thus saving production costs. This way, the patient cost for insulin may be decreased.
Diabetes also comes with a lot of secondary diseases and symptoms – one of them being gastroparesis (delayed emptying of the stomach). The symptoms of gastroparesis consist for example of pain, nausea and vomiting. The medical need is large as the treatment options for affected patients are few. Metoclopramide is a substance used to treat nausea and vomiting, and is the only drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of gastroparesis. The efficacy of existing metoclopramide-based drugs varies however widely, and the drugs are ineffective for many patients. Nanologica’s drug candidate NIC-001 is a reformulation of metoclopramide that aims to address these issues by bypassing the impaired gastrointestinal tract through sublingual administration. The expected advantage of NIC-001 is a faster and more consistent symptom relief, and increased comfort for patients.
Currently, Nanologica is preparing for a phase II clinical trial on gastroparesis patients with the aim of studying the safety of NIC-001 and comparing its pharmacokinetic profile to the formulation of metoclopramide available on the market today. The application to gain approval to start the study is expected to be handed in during the first half of 2020.
“Diabetes is a terrible disease affecting a huge amount of people worldwide. If we can contribute to making the lives of some of these patients better in any way, that would be a great accomplishment for us as a company”, says Andreas Bhagwani, CEO of Nanologica.
World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public and political spotlight.
For more information on NIC-001, please contact:
Kia Bengtsson, Director Drug Development Nanologica
Ph: +46 70 144 36 30 or e-mail: kia.bengtsson@nanologica.com
For further information, please contact:
Andreas Bhagwani, CEO Nanologica
Ph: +46 70 316 17 02 or e-mail: andreas.bhagwani@nanologica.com
About Nanologica AB (publ)
Nanologica was founded in 2004 and is a nanotechnology company developing nanoporous silica particles for applications within life science. Nanologica is world-leading in controlling the shape, size and type of porosity of silica particles. This knowledge is applied within drug delivery and chromatography (a separation technique used in drug development and drug production). The company’s mission is to contribute to better and cheaper treatments for patients worldwide through the technology platform NLAB Silica™. Nanologica’s stock (NICA) is listed on Spotlight Stock Market. For further information, please visit www.nanologica.com.
Tel: +46 70 316 17 02 eller e-post: andreas.bhagwani@nanologica.com