Based in Cambridge, CeNeS Pharmaceuticals has been identifying and developing treatments for conditions related to the central nervous system (CNS), particularly in relation to pain, anaesthesia and neurology, since 1997. Their primary focus is on drugs for the secondary care specialist market, mainly selling to anaesthetists and neurologists.

Products

M6G - post-operative pain. It is hoped that the active potent metabolite of morphine, morphine-6-glucuronide, will have as much analgesic effect as standard morphine formulations but with reduced nausea, vomiting and respiratory depression side-effects. Phase I and II clinical trials have shown that given intravenously, M6G works as effectively as morphine in moderate to severe post-operative pain, reducing nausea and vomiting by several measures.

CNS 5161 - neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is the sustained chronic pain experienced as a result of nerve damage. Limb amputation surgery, diabetes and shingles can all lead to this condition. C5161 is a novel compound for the treatment of neuropathic pain, filling a gap left in the market by traditional analgesics which frequently fail to provide adequate pain relief.

CNS 7056 - short acting sedative. This is a short-acting general anaesthetic and sedative. CeNeS Pharmaceuticals acquired a series of water-soluble, rapid and short-acting GABAA receptor modulations from GlaxoSmithKline. The lead compound, CNS 7056 is now in pre-clinical development.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors. These are used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and may also have indications for the cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. COMT is an enzyme which metabolises catecholamines such as dopamine.

www.cenes.com

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