THERAPEUTIC AREAS
At Hager, we are focused on several therapeutic areas that address significant unmet medical needs to alleviate human suffering in both the developed and lesser-developed parts of the world:
Chronic & Neuropathic Pain
Chronic and neuropathic pain remain one of the most unmet medical needs in humankind with approximately one in every six humans worldwide currently suffering from moderate to severe pain. In extreme cases, these often debilitating conditions render its sufferers unable to deal with everyday life responsibilities, causing a significant economic impact through increased health-care costs and lost productivity. While acute nociceptive pain sensations (normal responses to bodily injury and a mechanism by which the body protects itself from further tissue damage) generally subside upon tissue healing, chronic neuropathic pain (pain caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the nervous system) is characterized by abnormal spontaneous pain sensations that are typically unconnected to a diagnosable idiopathic cause. Chronic neuropathic pain syndrome encompasses numerous disease states: paresthesias, allodynia, post-herpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, erythermalgia, post-stroke or MS-related pain, lower back pain, visceral cancer pain, and HIV-related pain.
The state-of-the-art treatment for chronic neuropathic pain consists mainly of drug therapies that were originally developed for other indications; such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), selective serotonin-norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors (SSNRIs), anti-epileptic agents (a2d-calcium channel ligands) and opioids. These modalities remain woefully inadequate due to limited efficacy and unacceptable serious side effects. At Hager Biosciences, we are pursuing novel, validated targets to address this need by interrogating several ion channel and GPCR mediated pathways.
Substance Abuse & Addiction
Substance abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. Abuse of these agents can lead to dependency; manifested by behavioral, cognitive, and physiological phenomena that negatively impact a person's ability to remain a productive member of society. Psychoactive substance abuse represents a significant global burden and poses a serious threat to the health, social and economic fabric of families, communities and nations. In 2002, WHO estimated that worldwide abusers of these substances numbered in the billions. At Hager Biosciences, we currently have projects aimed to identify modulators of a family of GPCRs that have been associated with reward-pathways and drug-seeking behavior, with the view of developing novel and more effective treatments for substance abuse. To this end, we have partnered with reputable academic institutions to fully evaluate these emerging leads.
Metabolic Disorders
Metabolic syndrome (also known as Syndrome X) refers to a cluster of commonly co-existing metabolism-related morbidity risk factors that are often manifested together in a single individual including: (i) elevated insulin and fasting plasma glucose levels, (ii) elevated serum LDL and triglycerides, (iii) body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m2, and (iv) hypertension. As co-existing symptoms, these factors are associated with increased incidents of diabetes and heart disease; and generally paint a very poor picture for a patient's overall cardiovascular health. Approximately 30% of the population in industrialized countries is reported to suffer from metabolic syndrome. At Hager, we are applying our FragPhoreTM technology platform to identify new leads with potential utility as insulin sensitivity enhancers. Further characterization of these new molecular entities may define a new path forward for the treatment of diabetes and related the co-morbidities of metabolic syndrome.
Infectious Diseases
More than 25% of deaths worldwide are attributed to infectious diseases. Two of the most prevalent and neglected infectious diseases, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, result in millions of avoidable deaths annually. The situation is confounded due to emerging drug-resistant strains and low accessibility to healthcare in developing parts of the world. Collaborating with academic and non-profit organizations around the world, Hager is actively engaged in discovery projects that are directed towards TB and malaria, as well as other infectious diseases.