A groundbreaking drug programme is set to target endometriosis using a novel Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor that targets pain and inflammation. 

The therapeutic drug candidate  aims to address a critical unmet need in first-line treatments for a range of women’s health indications, starting with endometriosis and potentially extending to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and ovarian ageing.

While traditionally viewed as the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus, it is increasingly recognised as a chronic inflammatory condition, potentially explaining its numerous associated health issues.

The current standard of care involves surgical removal of lesions or affected organs, though recurrence often necessitates repeated procedures. Symptom management typically relies on pain medications and hormonal therapies, which provide the impetus for developing related treatments.

Founder and CEO of Celmatix Therapeutics, which is developing the drug, Dr. Piraye Yurttas Beim, said: “Despite impacting one-in-ten women and girls, to date there have been no disease-altering, first-line medications brought to market to treat endometriosis.

“As someone who has been impacted by endometriosis since my first period, I can relate to the burden that this debilitating disease places on individuals, families, employers, and communities. Thanks to our decade-long multi-omics initiative, our research group was early in recognising that inflammation is core to the pathophysiology of endometriosis and may explain why it predisposes women for so many other health conditions down the road.

“Long after their periods have ended, women pay the price for their period pain having been papered over with painkillers and birth control pills rather than truly addressed and cured.

“I dream of a better health trajectory for my daughter and her peers and believe that our new JNK immunotherapy will unlock that brighter future.”

CSO of Celmatix Therapeutics,Dr. Stephen Palmer, said: “Endometriosis represents an opportunity to address both one of the most significant areas of unmet clinical need and one of the biggest commercial opportunities in women’s health.

“Our evaluation process to find the right drug programme to pursue involved a number of criteria, including target evaluation for anticipated safety, efficacy, and druggability. We also knew that we wanted to prioritise a biological target that was ideally involved in both the transmission of peripheral pain signals and inflammation.

“It rapidly became clear that a novel class of JNK inhibitors with greater specificity for JNK1 and 3 than for JNK 2 had the potential to meet our target product objectives. It was at that stage that we approached our colleagues at BCM to license lead compounds with many of the desired drug qualities.

“The promising JNK inhibitor scaffolds discovered at BCM have unique efficacy, potency, and safety signals achieved through novel interactions not previously addressed by other JNK inhibitors. The work on these compounds also confirmed reductions in inflammatory cytokines in models of endometriosis established for cell cultures and endometriosis lesion regression in rodent models.

“We are now rapidly progressing these licensed compounds through our internal lead optimisation efforts and are optimistic to be able to nominate a development candidate soon.”

“We are confident that Celmatix Therapeutics is the ideal partner for this innovative endometriosis treatment, with potential to expand into other women’s health indications,” said Dr. Martin Matzuk, director of the Center for Drug Discovery at BCM, who has dedicated over 30 years to discovering drug targets in women’s health.

“I have known members of the Celmatix team for over two decades, and they have a proven track record in research integrity and business acumen. The JNK project originated from screens using our sophisticated multi-billion compound DEC-Tec platform, and we are very pleased with the progress made by the Celmatix team.”