Pharmaleads to Present PL265 for Ocular Pain Results at the ARVO 2017 Annual Meeting in Baltimore

PARIS, May 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Pharmaleads, an emerging pharmaceutical company developing innovative products for the management of acute and chronic severe pain, today announced that a poster presentation on its Dual ENKephalinase Inhibitor (DENKI) PL265 has been accepted for presentation at the upcoming Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2017 Annual Meeting which is being held from May 7th - 11th, 2017 in Baltimore, US.

Pharmaleads is a world leader in the understanding of the role of enkephalins in the management of local pain relief. Enkephalins are degraded by two enzymes, the enkephalinases NEP and APN, from the zinc-metallopeptidase family. Pharmaleads medicinal chemistry expertise has allowed the Company to develop drugs called DENKIs that are able to improve pain management by increasing the local concentrations of enkephalins, inhibiting the two enzymes responsible for their degradation.

PL265, one of the two drugs in clinical development at Pharmaleads, is being developed as eye-drops for ophthalmic pain/ dry eye syndrome.

The poster session details are: 

Poster No.: B0059

Program Number: 5172

Poster Title: Dual enkephalinase inhibitor (DENKI) PL265: a novel topical treatment for ocular pain?

Presentation Time: Thursday, May 11, 8:30 AM -10:30 AM

Session: Toxicology; hypoxia; ischemia; oxidative stress; corneal disease

Thierry Bourbié, CEO of Pharmaleads, comments, "We are delighted to have the opportunity to present at this year's ARVO Meeting. This is exciting news for our company as it is the first time we will be presenting at ARVO, one of the largest and most highly respected vision research organizations in the world. The data being presented, which assesses the anti-nociceptive effect of PL265 in experimental models of corneal pain, clearly supports the potential of DENKIs in the treatment of ophthalmic eye diseases and conditions."

Thierry added, "Ocular pain is a significant indication where there is a strong demand for improved treatment options. We believe that our DENKIs, the only drug candidates in clinical development that target the two enzymes responsible for the degradation of enkephalins, will provide an analgesia similar to that of opiates but without their highly troublesome side-effects."

Pharmaleads is looking for a pharma partner to support the development of PL265 in the ophthalmology field.

Pharmaleads is also developing an oral formulation of PL265 for the treatment of neuropathic pain. PL265 has completed Phase I single ascending dose (SAD) clinical trials and demonstrated good safety and tolerability. Pharmaleads anticipates to start a Phase I/IIa clinical trial with PL265 in ocular pain in 2018.

About Pharmaleads 

Pharmaleads is an emerging pharmaceutical company developing innovative products for the management of acute and chronic severe pain, a growing market with significant unmet medical need. Pharmaleads' drugs are based on its deep knowledge and understanding of enkephalins, a key element of the body's natural pain management system.

Pharmaleads' products, (Dual ENKephalinase inhibitors) DENKIs, aim to protect enkephalins, hence increasing their local concentrations and thereby inducing a physiological analgesia which improves pain management.

Pharmaleads has two products in clinical development which are targeting four multi-billion markets:

PL265 is being developed for the treatment of neuropathic pain (oral) and ocular pain/dry eye syndrome (eye drops). PL37 is being developed for the treatment of post-surgical /breakthrough cancer pain as a substitute of injectable opiates (IV) and acute migraine pain (oral route).

Pharmaleads was founded in 2000. It is headquartered in Paris, France, and is funded by Private investors.

For more information about Pharmaleads please visit www.Pharmaleads.com

For more information, please contact:
Pharmaleads
Michel Wurm, MD, Development Director
michel.wurm@pharmaleads.com
+33-(0)-1-44-06-70-04
+33-(0)-6-09-97-81-04

Media Relations
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
David Dible, Sylvie Berrebi, Marine Perrier
pharmaleads@citigatedr.co.uk
Tel: +44-(0)-20-7638-9571