Moderate to severe pain (IPP-102199)
Background
Pain is associated with a broad range of diseases and is often poorly diagnosed and treated. Severe pain caused by serious conditions such as cancer and surgical procedures is treated primarily by opioids (e.g. morphine).
ImmuPharma's compound
IPP-102199 is being designed as a non-addictive replacement for morphine, with potential major advantages like longer duration and fewer side effects. IPP-102199 is based on met-enkephalin, the body’s internal analgesic. Met-enkephalin is a naturally occurring small peptide which is secreted by the brain and the adrenal glands but normally is quickly broken down by the body. In developing IPP-102199, ImmuPharma is using its proprietary peptide to drug converting technology, which allows peptides to be delivered orally and retain their efficacy.
The new drug potentially can be administered orally just once a day. It is currently in pre-clinical development. As met-enkaphalin occurs naturally in the body, it is hoped IPP-102199 will have a lower risk of development failure.
