Apr 19, 2010
SuppreMol Receives U.S. Orphan Drug Designation for SM101

Apr 12, 2010
SuppreMol initiates Phase Ib/IIa clinical trial with its lead candidate SM101

Feb 08, 2010
SuppreMol appoints Dr. Robert Phelps as Head of Business Development & Licensing

September 15-17, 2010
BioPharma America 2010, Boston, MA, USA

Corporate Fact Sheet (en)
Corporate Fact Sheet (de)
Press Resources

Prof. Peter Buckel im Video-Interview

SuppreMol receives public research funding for its lead project SM101

Martinsried/Munich, Germany, September 7, 2009 -- SuppreMol GmbH, a privately
held biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of
autoimmune diseases, today announced it has been awarded research funding from the federal program "KMU-Innovativ" by the German Federal Ministry of Education
and Research (BMBF). The grant covers an R&D program of EUR 1 million to explore
the therapeutic potential of SM101 in previously unaddressed indications and to develop
novel diagnostic tools to stratify patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
At present, SuppreMol's lead candidate SM101 is being developed for the treatment
of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disease characterized
by a low count of thrombocytes. A Phase I trial in about 42 male volunteers to assess
the safety and tolerability of intravenously administered SM101 is ongoing, with final
results expected in early 2010. In parallel, the company has filed for a Phase Ib/IIa
trial in ITP which is scheduled to start by the end of 2009.
The grant will enable SuppreMol to explore additional formulations of SM101 for subcutaneous
and pulmonal administration as well as novel indications, e. g. Systemic
Lupus Erythematosus (SLE pulmonitis). This research is performed in close collaboration
with the Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics of the
University of Munich.
A second project covered by the grant focuses on the development and evaluation of
a new assay for the stratification of B-cell dependent Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients.
This diagnostic tool could help to significantly reduce treatment costs in MS. The project
is a collaboration between SuppreMol and the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology
in Munich.
"We are very pleased about the funding," commented Peter Buckel, CEO of Suppre-
Mol. "It will enable us to develop new marketing opportunities for SM101, e. g. in
novel indications and by alleviating the administration of SM101 so that it can be applied
by general practitioners or the patients themselves. In addition it will help us to
develop a diagnostic tool to identify patients with Multiple Sclerosis who might be eligible
for treatment with SM101."
"SM101 is addressing a very general mechanism involved in the onset of most autoimmune
diseases," said Peter Sondermann, CSO of SuppreMol. "Rather than blocking
the entire immune system, SM101 suppresses the specific antibody-dependent
part of the immune response only, which we expect to lead to a lasting decrease of
the level of pathogenic antibodies in the patient. Therefore, the compound has a huge
potential for a broad range of autoimmune diseases."
In 2007, the European Commission granted orphan medicinal product designation for
SM101 for the treatment of ITP.

 

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