The billion-dollar chronic cough market is vacant, and P2X3 antagonists are here

On October 8, China Biopharmaceuticals issued a corporate announcement stating that the company's self-developed innovative drug "TCR1672" had submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.

According to the announcement, TCR1672 is a second-generation highly selective P2X3 receptor antagonist, currently mainly used in the treatment of refractory chronic cough (RCC) adult patients in the respiratory field and endometriosis in the pain field and other complex internal organs Pain patients

What is a P2X3 receptor antagonist?

It is reported that in 1996, Pelleg and Hurt proved for the first time that extracellular ATP is an effective activator of sensory nerve fibers of the canine lung vagus nerve.

Image source: Bellus Health

Some structural/anatomical evidence suggests that cough reflex hypersensitivity may be specifically mediated through P2X3 receptors, which are ligand-gated ion channels in the purinergic receptor family

Therefore, antagonists that target P2X3 homotrimers have a therapeutic effect by blocking the influx of calcium ions produced by the P2X3 receptor initiated by adenosine triphosphate (ATP), thereby exerting a specific inhibitory effect on it

What is the market prospect and commercial value?

According to public data, about 5%-10% of adults worldwide suffer from chronic cough

According to a Bellus Health corporate report, there are approximately 2.

It is worth mentioning that according to Yaozhi data query, as of now, there is no clinically approved standard drug for the treatment of chronic cough, and there are huge unmet clinical needs

Who will eat the "crab" first?

Although there is no P2X3 inhibitor approved globally, the P2X3 target has become a popular research target in recent years, and domestic and foreign companies have deployed them

Research progress of some P2X3 inhibitors at home and abroad

Among them, Merck's gefapixant (MK-7264) has made the fastest research progress.

Data deadline: February 2020

Image source: Bellus Health

Gefapixant (MK-7264) was acquired by Merck in 2016 with a USD 1.

Speaking of this, I have to mention the P2X3 receptor selective antagonist QR052107B independently developed by China's Wuhan Langlai Technology, which is also a highly selective P2X3 receptor antagonist, which is on the premise of retaining good antitussive efficacy.

In addition, Bayer also announced in September that its IIb clinical study of eliapixant (BAY1817080) in the treatment of patients with refractory chronic cough (RCC) has reached the primary endpoint

This time, China Biopharmaceuticals TCR1672IND application was accepted by the FDA to further promote the research and development in the field of P2X3 inhibitors.

references:

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Announcement of Chinese Biopharmaceutical Companies

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