• In the October 2011 issue of the Journal of Urology, Dr. Oottamasathien reports that a SAGE, GM-1111 reduces the development of inflammation in a mouse cystitis model.  Our discovery further emphasizes that SAGEs have broad anti-inflammatory therapeutic potential.

GLYCOMIRA RECEIVES THREE PHASE I SBIR NIH GRANT AWARDS

(October 7, 2011) – GlycoMira Therapeutics announced that it has received three Phase I Small Business Innovation Research Awards.  The awards were issued from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). All three awards will explore preclinical uses of GlycoMira’s metabolically stabilized polysaccharides, the semi-synthetic glycosaminoglycan ethers (SAGEs), for treatment of inflammatory diseases.

The NCI award targets the inflammation linked to poor outcomes for patients with metastatic cancer. Most cancer patients die from the infiltration of bone, lungs, and liver with metastases from primary tumors. Several large clinical trials performed with heparin have shown that survival is significantly improved by daily subcutaneous administration of heparin.  Nevertheless, adoption in clinical cancer care has not occurred; the risk of hemorrhage from chronic administration of anticoagulant heparin is simply too high.  In contrast, SAGEs retain the anti-inflammatory activity of heparin, but are over 100-fold less potent as anti-coagulants. In animals, SAGEs are safe at doses above those required for a therapeutic effect.  GlycoMira’s partner is Dr. Alana Welm of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.  Together, they will evaluate the feasibility of using SAGEs as a novel therapy against tumor metastasis. 

The award from NIDDK provides financing for GlycoMira to better understand the cause of bladder inflammation and to develop a new treatment.  Inflammatory conditions that afflict the urinary bladder are a significant challenge in the United States, particularly in children with spina bifida and with adult women plagued with recurrent painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis (PBS/IC).  These inflammatory processes can lead to severe symptoms characterized by urinary frequency, bladder pain, nocturia, urgency, and pelvic pain.

GlycoMira’s collaborating urologist at the University of Utah, Dr. Siam Oottamasathien, MD, has shown the efficacy of GlycoMira’s compounds in preventing and mitigating bladder inflammation in a new mouse model. Dr. Oottamasathien and his team recently published the results of their work in the Journal of Urology. “The instillation of SAGEs has the potential to increase efficacy as well as reduce cost and side effects for women that are regularly catheterized with approved heparin or hyaluronic acid solutions,” says Dr. Oottamasthien. “Our ultimate goal to gain a better understanding of bladder inflammatory pathogenesis, and to provide a safe and effective new treatment for the many patients who suffer from PBS/IC.”

The award from the NIDCR allows GlycoMira to explore the feasibility of using SAGEs to treat gingivitis and periodontitis.   Chronic gingival inflammation afflicts over half of all American adults and can progress to periodontal disease, eventually resulting in tooth loss.  Importantly, periodontal disease is exacerbated by diabetes and smoking, and periodontitis substantially increases the risk of systemic illness such as cardiovascular and renal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and pregnancy complications.

GlycoMira will work with a world-class team of practicing periodontists led by Dr. Maria Ryan, DDS, PhD, Professor of Oral Biology & Pathology at the School of Dental Medicine, Stony Brook University, and Dr. Steven Offenbacher, DDS, PhD, MMSc, Director of the Center for Oral and Systemic Diseases, North Carolina Oral Health Institute.  GlycoMira plans to develop an oral formulation of SAGEs to prevent and treat periodontitis, and to reduce associated bone loss that leads to dental implant failure.

About GlycoMira:

GlycoMira was formed in early 2008 by University of Utah researchers and entrepreneurs, Glenn D. Prestwich, PhD and Thomas P. Kennedy, MD.  The company’s first product was targeted at treatment of rosacea, a common disfiguring skin disease affecting over 14 million Americans.  Rosacea is characterized by redness of the face, often with papules and pustules. There is no cure for the disease and its treatment is empirical and imperfect.  Work funded in part by a Phase I SBIR from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases resulted in a on-line publication in PLoS ONE that describes a topical SAGE ointment that reduces redness and inflammation in a preclinical model. This topical formulation is nearing clinical trials as a result of development by GlycoMira’s sublicensee, Brickell Biotech, Inc.

¹http://www.intechopen.com/articles/show/title/low-anticoagulant-heparins-in-the-treatment-of-metastasis

²http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21855919

³http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0016658

• In the February 2011 issue of PLoS One, Dr. Zhang presents that the SAGE, GM-1111 effectively reduces skin inflammation in a mouse model of rosacea.