MEQUON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ENDECE, LLC announced that it is opening an office in San Francisco, establishing a West Coast presence that reinforces its commitment to advancing its pipeline of novel therapeutics for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The new office, on California Street in San Francisco’s Financial District, places ENDECE in close proximity to leading life sciences companies, researchers, and investors, enhancing its access to partnerships and venture capital opportunities.
“The Bay Area is one of the world’s foremost hubs of life sciences activity,” said James Yarger, Ph.D., chief executive officer of ENDECE, LLC. “Our proximity to leading researchers and institutions, as well as to the venture capital community, will facilitate our efforts to establish strategic partnerships and secure additional funding for our development programs. Our lead compound for inducing remyelination in MS, NDC-1308, is poised to enter clinical trials in early 2018.”
NDC-1308 is a proprietary, small molecule chemical entity designed to repair the demyelinated axons in patients with MS. In preclinical models, NDC-1308 has been shown to readily cross the blood-brain barrier, allowing it to reach the tissues in the brain and spinal cord where promoting myelin repair is needed. As demonstrated in animal models of demyelination, by dramatically up-regulating key genes in pathways that induce oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) differentiation and myelin synthesis, NDC-1308 is believed to remyelinate axons that have been demyelinated. ENDECE discovered NDC-1308 and owns the intellectual property surrounding the compound.
The company is preparing to conduct IND-enabling studies with NDC-1308 which is an important prerequisite for obtaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct clinical trials in humans. With a library of compounds that modulate various signaling pathways at the level of gene expression, the company also has potential therapeutic candidates for Alzheimer’s disease and neuropathic pain; these programs are still in the discovery stages of development.
About ENDECE
ENDECE, LLC (ENDECE), founded in 2006, is a privately held biopharmaceutical drug discovery and development company with offices in Mequon, Wisconsin and San Francisco, California. The company focuses on small-molecule compounds that control key genes within specific signaling pathways as a platform for discovering drugs capable of treating diseases for which there are no cures. ENDECE’s scientists have created a proprietary library of compounds having the potential to treat diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s disease.
ENDECE’s business strategy is to discover and develop drug candidates through early clinical studies and then secure a licensing partner for full clinical development and commercialization. ENDECE is led by an experienced management team with a proven ability to take drug candidates from discovery through clinical studies. For more information, visit www.endece.com.
