January 3, 2014
NeuroGate Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical spinoff company founded by UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy professor Harold Kohn, PhD, has received a $25,000 Epilepsy Innovation Seal of Excellence Award from the Epilepsy Foundation to support its development of NGT-168, a potential new anti-seizure drug.
Founded in 2011, NeuroGate has developed novel, patentable compounds for the treatment of neuropathic pain and epilepsy. Kohn, a Kenan Distinguished Professor in the School’s Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, says the compounds under development are highly potent in established animal models and have a novel combination of actions on sodium channels that prevent neuronal hyperexcitability, which is the hallmark of signaling in seizures and neuropathic pain.
Kohn says NGT-168 provided excellent seizure protection while showing exceptionally low neurotoxicity in animal behavioral tests. Neurotoxic side effects, such as dizziness, drowsiness, and ataxia, are common properties of many central nervous systems drugs that limit their utility. NGT-168 is undergoing studies needed for filing an Investigational New Drug application.
Recipients for the award are chosen by the Epilepsy Foundation’s Scientific and Business Advisory Boards. The Innovation Seal of Excellence Award seeks to identify and accelerate the development of new products for the treatment of the epilepsies. The award, launched in 2013, is designed to help recipients get funding and resources that will carry their work through proof of concept and beyond.
Latest News
RASP poster presentations capture student research
Delesha Carpenter promoted to full professor
