TruNoc^™

Nitec’s second product candidate is TruNoc (tarenflurbil), which is being developed as a treatment of neuropathic pain, osteoarthritis (OA) and other chronic inflammation and pain-related diseases.

The development of TruNoc in acute pain was initiated by PAZ GmbH in 2000. It has been shown in two clinical studies that TruNoc is well tolerated and that it is efficacious as an analgesic in a pain model in healthy volunteers and in hospitalized patients with severe post-partum pain. TruNoc was in-licensed by Nitec from PAZ GmbH in July 2007 with Nitec acquiring exclusive world-wide rights in the fields of chronic inflammation and pain-related diseases.

Compound principles and mode of action
The scientific rationale for the development of TruNoc is compelling. Tarenflurbil is a focused inhibitor of certain well-characterized genes (NF-κB and AP-1), whose expression is known to lead to inflammation and pain. The compound is one of two enantiomers (chemically mirror-imaged compounds) that constitute flurbiprofen; an analgesic and anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical, which gained marketing approval in the 1970s. Compared to the opposite enantiomer, tarenflurbil does not exhibit significant COX-I/II inhibition, with its associated negative side-effects. Nitec is conducting pharmacokinetic studies in preparation for further clinical development of TruNoc at higher doses. Results from the various clinical trials that TruNoc has undergone can be found here.