Noema Pharma Announces First Patient Dosed in Study Evaluating Efficacy of NOE-101 for Trigeminal Neuralgia

Noema Pharma, a Swiss-based clinical stage company targeting orphan central nervous system diseases, announced on Feb. 22, 2022 the dosing of its first patient in its Phase IIb LibraTN clinical trial of the mGluR5 inhibitor NOE-101 in trigeminal neuralgia (TN). LibraTN is a multi-center, 24-week, prospective, double-blind, randomized-withdrawal, placebo-controlled study to further evaluate the efficacy and safety of NOE-101 in adults with pain associated with TN.

TN is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from the face to the brain. TN is a form of neuropathic pain associated with nerve injury or nerve lesion. According to the press release, new cases of TN affect four to five of every 100,000 people in the United States each year.

NOE-101 is a highly selective, potent, and cell-penetrant negative allosteric modulator of mGlu5 receptors for the management of pain associated with TN.

"It's very exciting to have dosed our first patient in this Phase 2b trial in trigeminal neuralgia. We see great potential for NOE-101 in pain management due to its ability to block the nuclear membrane mGlu5 receptors which are overexpressed in chronic pain," said George Garibaldi, Chief Medical Officer of Noema Pharma, in the press release. "Treatment options are scarce in TN with only one treatment option that was approved over 50 years ago. We believe that patients suffering from TN deserve the benefit of the latest mechanistic discoveries. NOE-101 has great potential to provide these patients with the efficacy they need and a safety profile compatible with long-term use.”

Source: Noema Pharma