Herantis Pharma awarded Innovation prize of the Chemical Industry Federation of Finland
Herantis Pharma Plc
Press release 19 Apr 2018 at 8:30 am
The Innovation prize 2018 of Finland's Chemical Industry Federation was awarded to CDNF protein therapy for Parkinson's disease by Herantis Pharma plc ("Herantis") and the University of Helsinki; and the pine-oil based, naturally active Progres® of Forchem and Hankkija for animal feeding. The Innovation prize, worth 20,000 euros, is granted once every two years. The purpose of the award is to encourage the creation of inventions and innovations that contribute to the well-being of people and the environment.
"This award is a wonderful recognition of the leading scientific research by professor Mart Saarma's group, the determined drug development by Herantis, and the excellent collaboration of the teams", appreciates Pekka Simula, Herantis' CEO.
Further information:
Herantis Pharma plc, Pekka Simula, CEO, telephone: +358 40 7300 445
Company web site: www.herantis.com
About Herantis Pharma Plc
Herantis Pharma Plc is an innovative drug development company focused on regenerative medicine and unmet clinical needs. Our clinical stage assets CDNF and Lymfactin® are based on globally leading scientific research in their fields. They both aim at breakthrough in the treatment of severe diseases: CDNF in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease; and Lymfactin® in breast cancer associated lymphedema with potential also in other lymphedemas. The shares of Herantis are listed on the First North Finland marketplace run by Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.
About Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a slowly progressing, incurable neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Common first symptoms of the disease include tremors, rigidity, and slowness of movement. While the motor symptoms can be treated with medication the progression of the disease cannot be prevented. The benefits of medication may be lost with disease progression or their side effects can become unmanageable. The progressing disease is also associated with non-motor symptoms such as sleep problems, depression, and anxiety, which are not alleviated by current Parkinson's drugs. It is estimated that 7 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson's disease.
About CDNF
CDNF is a novel drug candidate for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Naturally present in the human blood circulation and cerebrospinal fluid, CDNF is a protein with neuroprotective and neurorestorative properties, patented internationally by Herantis. Encouraged by strong preclinical proof-of-concept Herantis has launched a first-in-human, randomized Phase 1-2 clinical study with CDNF in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). The clinical study has received funding from the European Union's research and innovation program Horizon 2020 under grant agreement number 732386.
CDNF administration has been safe in preclinical studies and in first clinical treatments. In disease models, CDNF has protected and regenerated dopamine-generating cells in the midbrain suggesting potential for disease modification of PD. It has also shown efficacy in non-motor symptoms of PD. CDNF drug development is based on research at the University of Helsinki, led by professor Mart Saarma. An introductory CDNF video is available on Herantis' website at http://herantis.com/media/videos/
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