Monday, August 7, 2017

Treating achondroplasia: update on the current potential therapies

There has been a while since I published the last article and, as we see some new updates on currently therapeutic approaches and the emrgence of a couple of new ones, I thought it would be good to list the current active (and not so active) research on potential therapies for achondroplasia.

The table below lists the main therapeutic strategies disclosed in the literature. Almost all of them have been reviewed here in the blog, but for two exceptions: 1. B-701, an anti-FGFR3 antibody currently in development by an US based biotech company, about which we do not have much information; and 2. the gene editing strategy (which does deserve a dedicated review). If you are interested in learning more about them, just visit the index page to find out the links for their reviews.

Some of the drugs listed have not been tested in an achondroplasia model, but showed activity against FGFR3 in the lab and could be candidates for testing in achondroplasia as well.

Table. Main potential pharmacological strategies for the treatment of achondroplasia.

Drug
Status
Developer
Reference
Tested in achondroplasia models
Vosoritide
Phase 3
TA-46
Pre-clinical
Meclizine/meclozine
Pre-clinical
Academy
Statins
Pre-clinical
Academy
NVP-BGJ398
Pre-clinical
Academy/Novartis
B-701 (antibody)
Pre-clinical
No specific publication located
CRISPR-CAS9 (gene editing)
?
Academy
PTH
?
Academy
P3 (peptide)
?
Academy
Tested against FGFR3 (but not in achondroplasia)




Menaquinones

Academy
Sogabe N et al. (2011); Kaisermann MC (2011) (letter on Sogabe et al.);