Preparations for the Eurostars application “Novel breakthrough non-antibiotic treatment of acne”

Important results from the project

Approximately 600 million people worldwide suffer from acne, a disease that mainly affects the younger part of the population. Current treatments are based on antibiotics or retinoids, which carries the risks of developing resistance or causing birth defects. We have developed molecules that inhibit the enzyme CYP26B1. This means that the breakdown of naturally occurring vitamin A is blocked in damaged tissue, a new way of treating e.g. acne. The molecules have proven to be very specific in their activity - a major breakthrough on the route to a safe new drug for acne, with no side effects.

Expected long term effects

The effects of the results achieved in the project, i.e. a clear project plan - including safety studies, business plan, competitive situation, selectivity of the substances towards 80 receptors and ion channels -will lead to a strong Lead Optimisation project. An international proposal is planned and due to the preparations (hard work with new data and knowledge) achieved during this 5 months´ project, we expect a very strong proposal with a positive funding decision.

Approach and implementation

The project was, as in the proposal, divided into 5 Work Packages. Meetings between the WP-leaders were scheduled every fortnight and facilitated that the project delivered results on time and within budget. During the meetings, both scientific and logistics problems were discussed, all of which the WP-leaders were involved in solving. WP1, project management, has filed all new assets in a common web-based system for easy access for the further development towards PoC (Proof of Concept) and preparations and documentation for Phase 1 studies in the clinic.