Tonix Pharmaceuticals has licensed technology using oxytocin-based therapeutics from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) to treat Prader-Willi Syndrome.
The co-exclusive license allows Tonix to expand its development program of TNX-2900 for the potential treatment of PWS and will apply to the FDA for a Fast Track Designation. Tonix’s patented potentiated oxytocin formulation is believed to increase specificity for oxytocin receptors relative to vasopressin receptors as well as to enhance the potency of oxytocin.
Read the press release from Tonix Pharmaceuticals below.
CHATHAM, N.J., Feb. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: TNXP) (Tonix or the Company), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced an agreement whereby Tonix has licensed technology using oxytocin-based therapeutics for the treatment of Prader-Willi syndrome and non-organic failure to thrive disease from Inserm. The licensing agreement has been negotiated and signed by Inserm Transfert, the private subsidiary of Inserm, on behalf of Inserm (the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), Aix-Marseille Université and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire of Toulouse.
The co-exclusive license allows Tonix to expand its intranasal potentiated oxytocin development program to a new indication. The new program at Tonix has the designation TNX-2900 (intranasal potentiated oxytocin) for the treatment of Prader-Willi syndrome. The patents covering the technology are expected to provide market exclusivity for the co-licensees in the U.S. and Europe through 2031, which exclusivity could be extended after marketing authorization by a Supplemental Protection Certificate in Europe or a Patent Term Extension in the U.S., independent of other Tonix-held patents covering the formulation and oxytocin potentiation technologies for intranasal administration.
“Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder of failure to thrive in infancy and uncontrolled appetite and obesity in childhood and adulthood with no approved treatments available,” said Tonix’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Seth Lederman, M.D. “With the license from Inserm Transfert, we have the opportunity to expand our ongoing efforts with intranasal potentiated oxytocin to this new indication. Since Prader-Willi syndrome is an orphan disease that occurs in approximately one in 15,000 births, we plan at the appropriate time to submit an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations for TNX-2900.”
Prader-Willi syndrome results in physical, mental and behavioral problems. A key feature of Prader-Willi syndrome in infants is a lack of suckling and poor muscle strength which leads to malnutrition and failure to thrive. However, paradoxically in children and adults, the key feature of Prader-Willi syndrome is a constant sense of hunger (hyperphagia), which leads to severe obesity. Intranasal oxytocin improves suckling in newborn animals but also suppresses feeding behaviors in adult animal models. Tonix’s patented potentiated oxytocin formulation is believed to increase specificity for oxytocin receptors relative to vasopressin receptors as well as to enhance the potency of oxytocin.
About TNX-2900* and Tonix’s Potentiated Oxytocin Platform
TNX-2900 is based on Tonix’s patented intranasal potentiated oxytocin formulation. Tonix is also developing a different intranasal formulation and device, designated TNX-1900, for prophylaxis of chronic migraine and for the treatment of insulin resistance and related conditions. Oxytocin is a naturally occurring human hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. It was originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as Pitocin®**, an intravenous infusion or intramuscular injection drug, for use in pregnant women to induce labor. An intranasal form of oxytocin was marketed in the U.S. by Novartis to assist in the production of breast milk as Syntocinon®*** (oxytocin nasal 40 units/ml), but the product was withdrawn, and the New Drug Application (NDA) has been discontinued. TNX-2900 and TNX-1900 are in the pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) stage and have not been approved for any indication.
*TNX-2900 is an investigational new drug and has not been approved for any indication.
