After identifying some valuable new potential treatments for T20K, Cyxone has entered into a research collaboration with Prof. Christian Gruber, the inventor of T20K & Prof Gernot Schabbauer from the Medical University of Vienna.

The aim of the study is to deepen the understanding of the mode of action (MoA) of T20K and to explore these new uses and the potential to provide significant additional therapeutic benefit in a model for multiple sclerosis, the company states in a press release. The study will start later in July with planned readout in June 2022, and constitutes studies required for approval to test in humans with the new administration form.

“We are becoming a more science driven company and this will open up more possibilities.”

“By building collaborative scientific relationships around the world, like this alliance, we are crafting an environment where new scientific perspectives may help to validate and develop T20K towards a life-changing treatment for the benefit of patients. We are becoming a more science driven company and this will open up more possibilities. With a successful outcome, we will potentially also be able to expand the therapeutic scope of T20K in MS and potentially beyond MS. Cyxone intends to exploit the full therapeutic potential and full value of T20K for patients and for our shareholders,” says Tara Heitner, CEO of Cyxone.

T20K

T20K is a potential first-in-class peptide drug candidate that shows promise as a novel and safe therapy which can halt the progression of MS. T20K has been shown to both delay disease development and to halt its progression once disease has been initiated in animal models, thereby positioning T20K as a therapy for early intervention in MS which could potentially improve the quality of life for MS patients by delaying or even stopping the diseases progression.

The collaboration with Med Uni Vienna will explore if there is a therapeutic effect which can be beneficial for other MS patient subsets. The project is part of the ongoing preclinical development activities for T20K, and the studies are important to be able to apply for approval to go into clinical phase 1.

The aim is also to confirm the results from previously performed studies with T20K in an in vivo model. A new study design will be applied in this collaboration with the purpose of gaining more in-depth knowledge of the MoA and to deepen the scientific understanding of how T20K works in the body. New possibilities for the treatment will also be tested to determine if there is broader potential for T20K.

Photo of Tara Heitner: Cyxone