Expesicor Inc — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NINDS

Description

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrentspontaneousseizuresEpilepsy is a major public health issue with inadequate treatment optionsOvermillion people worldwide have epilepsyThis is more than cerebral palsymultiple sclerosisandParkinson s disease combinedAlthough more than two dozen antiseizure drugsASDsexistapproximately one third of patientsovermillionsuffer from uncontrollable seizuresi edrug resistant epilepsyDespite the advent of various new ASDs over the pastyearsthe incidence of refractory epilepsy has not changedOne potential explanation for this disappointing fact is that ASD screening continuesto utilize the same conventional methodsIn factASD screening has not appreciably evolvedsince the first study inThe continued use of conventional methods in other wordsmaintenance of the status quo is unlikely to identify better substancesA new approach isneededIn a recent pilot experimentwe at Expesicor achieved proof of concept that a novel approachcalled the KaL methodcan reliably reproduce fundamental characteristics of refractory humanepilepsyThe main goal of the proposed project is to develop and commercialize two animal modelsbased on the KaL method thatreliably recapitulate fundamental aspects of the epilepsyphenotype andexhibit seizures that are refractory to ASDsOur team is comprised ofexperts in various areas of epilepsy Randamp Dranging from preclinical studies to clinical trialsWe also have substantial experience in biotechnology commercializationIf successfulthis project will lead directly to the implementation of the KaL methodin drug discovery screening efforts for new and better ASDsOur target customers are owners of substances with potential antiseizure effectsThis ranges fromsmall biotech firms to the largest pharmaceutical companiesTo emphasize the need for novel drugscreening approaches and to demonstrate existing demand for our serviceswe have secured lettersof intent from four potential customersThe KaL method directly challenges the existing drug screening paradigmwhich has failed to reducethe incidence of refractory epilepsyThis project has the potential to revolutionize the currentASD screening paradigmwhich is long overdue for a breakthrough Novel therapies are urgently needed that can bring seizure freedom to the one third ofepilepsy patients whodespite medicationsuffer from intractable seizuresThe developmentvalidationand implementation of divergent disease models that more accurately mimichuman epilepsy are crucial first steps toward fulfilling this unmet needTo this endthe proposed project will develop two novel models of drug resistant human epilepsy