Abbvie Inc. is buying exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize two Nav1.8 inhibitors for pain – HSK-55718 and HSK-51155 – from Haisco Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. for $30 million up front and up to $715 million in milestone payments, plus royalties.
Four months after Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s U.S. FDA nod for Journavx (suzetrigine) as the first drug targeting NaV1.8 for treating pain, Eli Lilly and Co. is joining the potential competition via a buyout of Siteone Therapeutics Inc., a privately held firm developing small-molecule sodium channel inhibitors, including a phase II-ready NaV1.8 inhibitor.
Discovery of novel Nav1.8 inhibitors capable of achieving high levels of target modulation at low oral doses for the potential treatment of pain was reported by Merck & Co. Inc.
Guangzhou Fermion Technology Co. Ltd. has announced IND clearance by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for FZ-008-145 to treat pain.
All treatment groups in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s phase II study of the non-opioid VX-548 showed meaningful reductions in pain from baseline in treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), pointing the company toward pivotal phase III studies and prompting analysts to applaud enthusiastically.
