Company joins largest collaboration in the field of ageing research in the Netherlands
Partners to study neuroinflammation and metabolomics in collaboration’s NEUROMET project
NIJMEGEN, the Netherlands – January 22, 2020: Khondrion, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company discovering and developing therapies targeting mitochondrial disease, today announces its participation in DuSRA (Dutch Society for Research on Ageing) VOILA (Vitality Orientated Innovations for the Lifecourse of the Ageing Society), the largest collaboration in the field of ageing research in the Netherlands.
The collaboration sees a wide-ranging and multi-disciplinary team of experts working together on solutions that can contribute to healthy ageing and increased vitality.
Within the collaboration’s NEUROMET (Neuroinflammation and Metabolomics) project, Khondrion and partners will develop novel methods to identify mechanisms underlying the effect of blood-based metabolic or immune biomarkers on the brain, in the context of cognitive decline and depression. The team will use ‘organ-on-a-chip’ models of human neurons and the blood brain barrier to better understand the mechanisms and treatment of depression and chronic diseases. The research will help to address questions such as: which metabolic or immune signals cross the neurovascular unit of the brain and do these signals influence brain metabolism and neuronal functioning? And can we modify or compensate for such changes in brain metabolism? The outcomes are expected to prove useful for several clinical, biomedical and drug research applications.
Prof. Dr. Jan Smeitink, Chief Executive Officer at Khondrion, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with DuSRA on the NEUROMET consortium, together with this excellent group of researchers. This public-private partnership addresses important clinical relevant questions that will support research into the challenges of ageing and ensuring continued vitality, as well as Khondrion’s drug development strategy in the field of mitochondrial disease.”
Prof. Dr. Thomas Hankemeier, chair of the Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR), said: “I am excited that Khondrion has joined the NEUROMET consortium. Khondrion’s R&D and proprietary drug library will be crucial to reach the final aim of the consortium to identify early signs of functional decline in older adults, attenuate decline and repair damage.”
Khondrion is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company discovering and developing therapies targeting mitochondrial disease. Founded by Prof. Jan Smeitink, a world-leader in mitochondrial medicine, the company is advancing its proprietary science through a wholly owned clinical and preclinical small molecule pipeline of potential medicines.
Khondrion’s lead asset, sonlicromanol (KH176), is a potential first-in-class oral small molecule in phase IIb clinical development to treat a range of mitochondrial diseases including m.3243A>G spectrum disorders including MELAS, MIDD and mixed phenotypes. It has been granted Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of MELAS, MIDD and Leigh disease in Europe, and for all inherited mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders in the USA.
The company’s in-house discovery engine is using unique live-cell imaging technologies, patient-derived cell lines and predictive cell-based disease models to build a portfolio of promising compounds. Active discovery programs are underway developing new therapies, biomarkers and new read-out technologies in the field of mitochondrial (-related) diseases.
To accelerate the discovery and development of its potential medicines for mitochondrial diseases, Khondrion collaborates with a global clinical and academic network and patient organisations internationally. Khondrion is headquartered in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. For more information visit www.khondrion.com
The Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) is a centre of excellence for multidisciplinary research on drug discovery and development and is part of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University. The division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology of the LACDR develops novel personalized medicine strategies, and development of new systems-based approaches in translational and clinical pharmacology. The Analytical BioSciences & Metabolomics group of prof. Thomas Hankemeier develops innovative analytical strategies for metabolomics driven systems biology studies. His group is aiming to identify pathway and network perturbations of cardiometabolic/cardiovascular diseases and CNS diseases using metabolomics and organ-on-a-chip models (www.analyticalbiosciences.nl).
The NEUROMET project is part of DuSRA (Dutch Society for Research on Ageing)-VOILA (Vitality Oriented Innovations for the Lifecourse of the Ageing Society), the largest collaboration in the field of ageing research in the Netherlands. In the VOILA program nine research institutes and eight private parties study which factors and solutions promote healthy aging and increases Vitality. The VOILA program is led by Prof.dr. Eline Slagboom, (Leiden University Medical Center; LUMC). The whole program is supported by The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development, ZonMW, Health~Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health and private partners, including Khondrion.
