Available Technology
Wogonin - a drug candidate for pain
Technology:
Natural product
Markets Addressed
The invention addresses the need for a low-toxicity, non-addictive therapeutic that can be used to manage a variety of clinical conditions:
• Inflammatory pain: As demonstrated in the formalin mouse model, Wogonin significantly reduces perceived inflammatory pain that can be caused by tissue damage, injury, and certain diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, migraine and multiple sclerosis.
• Neuropathic pain: This type of pain is caused by direct damage to the central or peripheral nervous system. It does not respond well to opiates and other conventional pain remedies. Neuropathic pain frequently accompanies cancer chemotherapy, spine injuries, diabetes and HIV infection. Several chronic neurological disorders, such as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome also result in neuropathic pain. In all these cases Wogonin can both diminish perceived pain and prevent further development of disease by preventing apoptosis and necrosis of neurons.
• Epilepsy: Wogonin is also useful to treat a diverse range of seizures, and to prevent epilepsy and the onset of seizures (epileptogenesis).
Since in many cases the underlying cause of pain is chronic or permanent, it might be necessary to deliver the drug over extended periods of time. To accomplish that, Wogonin can be packaged into sustained release delivery vehicle, such as biodegradable implant.
Innovations and Advantages
Background: Pain management remains a ubiquitous clinical problem. In addition to injury, nearly every disease from arthritis to cancer to HIV infection and diabetes has a major pain component. Pain management for some conditions such as nerve injuries and chronic inflammatory disease has been poor. While a number of drugs exist to alleviate pain, many of them are either toxic or addictive.
Traditional herbal medicines as a source of new CNS drugs: Before the onset of the modern pharmacology many diseases have been treated using natural products. Even now plant extracts remain an important source of pharmacologically diverse lead molecules for drug development. Dr. Schachter, a world-renowned neurologist, and his group screen herbs and combinations of herbs that have traditionally been used over a number of centuries in East Asia to treat seizures and pain. To increase likelihood of success, herbs are pre-selected using clinical recommendations of senior experts in China and Japan and review of original references in traditional textbooks.
Wogonin-based formulations for pain relief: Wogonin is a flavonoid derived from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, a Chinease herbal remedy traditionally prescribed for treatment of inflammatory diseases. For the first time, Harvard researches demonstrated utility of the molecule as a low-toxic pain relief and neuroprotective agent:
• Wogonin alleviates pain: Using the standard mouse formalin pain model, this noxious agent is injected into mouse paw and the total time animals spend licking the damaged limb is used to gauge severity of pain. Remarkably, in the Wogonin-treated group this pain behavior was reduced 4-fold.
• Neuroprotective activity of wogonin: Certain chemicals can cause permanent damage to the nervous system leading to development of chronic neuropathic pain. Dr. Schachter and colleagues have demonstrated that Wogonin prevents death of murine cortical neurons upon exposure to NMDA, a neurotoxic agent.
• Wogonin reduces seizures: In the art-recognized Subcutaneous Metrazole (SCMET) model to test for therapeutic agents for epilepsy, a dose of pentylenetetrazol produces clonic seizures. Administration of Wogonin abolished the effect pentylenetetrazol, and eliminated clonic spasms in all tested mice.
• The drug is low-toxic: Positive experience of traditional healers suggests that the compound and the related herb possess low toxicity which, in turn, implies that the drug can quickly pass through clinical trials.
Besides the purified compound the group has studied the 4-herb mixture containing extracts of Scutellaria, Glycyrrhiza, Ziziophus and Paeonia plants. The composition also has pain-reducing, antiepileptic and neuroprotective activity and can be used with or without purified Wogonin.
A PCT patent application protecting the use of Wogonin for pain and the 4-herb use in epilepsy and pain is pending. This technology is available for worldwide, exclusive licensing and/or a collaborative research program with the Schachter laboratory.
Additional Information
Intellectual Property Status: Patent(s) pending
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Inventor(s):
Schachter, Steven C.
Categories:
For further information, please contact:
Michal Preminger, Director of Business Development
(617) 432-0920
Reference Harvard Case #3002