Enzychem Lifesciences Announces Publication of Preclinical Study of EC-18 in Gouty Arthritis in Frontiers in Immunology

ENGLEWOOD, N.J., May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Enzychem Lifesciences, a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative medicines focused on the inflammation pathway, today announced that preclinical research involving their lead compound EC-18 (PLAG), and its activity in gouty arthritis have been published in the peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers in Immunology.

Gouty arthritis is an inflammatory joint disease that most often occurs in men over 40 years of age. Worldwide, the incidence of this condition is 0.08–0.13% in men and 0.03% in women. Gout is accompanied by tenderness, erythema, redness, swelling, pain, and fever in periarticular tissues or in joints with accumulated monosodium urate (MSU) crystals.

The publication reports results from a study, examining a mitigating effect of PLAG on gouty inflammation, one of the sterile inflammations caused by MSU crystal, a substance thought to be DAMP (Damage-associated molecular pattern). Neutrophil infiltration to the tophi is a major cause of the pain in the gouty tissues, and neutrophils are recruited by chemotactic activity in response to neutrophil attracting chemokines, such as CXCL8, which are produced in MSU-accumulated tissues. Therefore, modulating the chemokine production to result in earlier DAMP clearance may be a new therapeutic target to reduce the pain of acute gout.

"We are encouraged by EC-18's potential activity in gouty arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease. These results showed the compound's therapeutic efficacy by reducing chemotaxis-dependent recruitment of neutrophils into MSU-induced gouty lesions. Based on this study, we think that EC-18 could be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of gouty inflammation," said Ki Young Sohn, Chief Executive Officer of Enzychem Lifesciences.

In a previous study, PLAG induced rapid resolution of inflammation in LPS-induced acute lung injury via early elimination of LPS and early termination of endocytosis dependent signaling of TLR4. PLAG remarkably ameliorated LPS-induced acute lung injury, which is a disease caused by a PAMP molecule.

EC-18 has been shown pre-clinically to control neutrophil infiltration, thereby dampening the inflammatory cytokine and chemokine signaling that has been implicated in these severe COVID-19 cases. EC-18 has also been shown to improve lung function, as well as to reduce inflammation and fibrosis, in multiple animal models of immune-mediated acute lung injury and also other inflammatory diseases, such as pneumonia.

About Enzychem Lifesciences

Enzychem Lifesciences Corp. (KOSDAQ:183490) is a global pharmaceutical company focused on developing oral small molecule therapies for patients with significant unmet needs in oncology, inflammatory, and severe respiratory diseases. Founded in 1999, the company's lead candidate EC-18 is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trials in oncology supportive care indications. The company is also developing EC-18 in fibrotic diseases such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and in severe respiratory diseases as a potential therapy for COVID-19. EC-18, or PLAG, is a naturally synthesized substance, derived from an active ingredient in Sika deer antlers. For more information, please visit www.enzychem.com

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