JENKINTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SFA Therapeutics is pleased to announce approval of our first key patent in our research and development program, using microbiome-derived metabolite small molecules as anti-inflammatory/immune-modulating drugs. Targeting Ffar2 (GPR43) and Ffar3 (GPR441) and down-regulating NF-ĸB, this patent covers our first major drug, SFA001, and provides a way of treating patients afflicted with hepatitis B. In preclinical animal studies, transgenic mice expressing the hepatitis B oncoprotein (HBx) were treated with a mixture of selected bacterial metabolites several months prior to the development of liver cancer. Treatment prevented the development of liver cancer in about half the treated mice and resulted in smaller and fewer tumors in mice that still developed liver cancer. According to the World Health Organization, "an estimated 257 million people are living with hepatitis B, which resulted in over 887,000 deaths in 2015. Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection and is a major global health problem." (http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-b). Hepatitis B is an incurable viral disease that can progress to a fatal form of liver cancer called Hepatocellular Carcinoma or HCC. There are few current effective treatments to prevent the progression of this disease and this newly patented approach provides a new treatment option.
According to Dr. Mark Feitelson, Professor of Biology at Temple University in Philadelphia, “SFA001 represents a new approach toward treating chronic inflammatory diseases that promote the development of selected tumors and autoimmune diseases. SFA is working on translating these findings into drugs for human treatment." SFA001 has been licensed by Temple University to SFA Therapeutics in Jenkintown, PA.
SFA Therapeutics is a development-stage bio-pharmaceutical company focused on a new advancement in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, targeting NF-Kb. Chronic inflammation has been implicated in a wide range of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus (SLE), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn's Disease, Psoriasis, Liver Disease and certain forms of cancer. These small-molecule drugs are derived from natural substances and enable a new platform for developing treatments aimed at inflammatory diseases currently afflicting patients; with safer treatments than current therapies.
