Australian state Queensland has partnered with the University of Queensland to advance the development of a new drug candidate for the treatment of motor neurone disease (MND).

The university’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) is working in conjunction with local firm NuNerve to develop and manufacture the product for clinical trials scheduled to begin next year.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Founded in 2005, QBI is the result of partnership between the Queensland government and the university. Queensland expects that the development of this drug will generate the first commercial return to the state from the institute.

NuNerve will use a biologics manufacturing facility run by Thermo Fisher for the drug development programme.

“The research showed that EphA4 was the key molecule involved in the guidance of motor neurons from the brain to targets in the spinal cord.”

This project will be the first for the facility, which was also established in 2005 with support from the government.

The drug candidate is being designed to block a protein called EphA4 and is expected to be useful for the treatment of multiple neurological diseases, including MND and spinal cord injury.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

University of Queensland vice-chancellor and president Peter Høj said: “The research showed that EphA4 was the key molecule involved in the guidance of motor neurons from the brain to targets in the spinal cord and was also responsible for impeding the recovery of motor neurons following injury.”

QBI professor Perry Bartlett said: “It is gratifying to see our discovery translated into a potential treatment for patients with MND.”

The university’s commercialisation arm UniQuest out-licensed the intellectual property of the drug candidate to NuNerve, which is focused on developing new technologies for neurological diseases.