Nerve pain: is an end in sight for the “invisible illness”?
Neuropathic or nerve pain is a significant global health issue, affecting over 400 million people worldwide. Neuropathic pain results from damage to, or dysfunction of, the nervous system which causes nerve fibres to send the wrong signals to pain centres throughout the body. A range of factors can cause neuropathic pain, such as injury, compression, toxic agents (e.g., chemotherapy), viral infections, and metabolic disorders.
Neuropathic pain causes a huge personal burden to those affected due to disability and loss of quality of life. People living with the condition may experience either constant or sporadic bursts of shooting pain, burning pain, as well tingling sensations, numbness, insomnia and emotional problems. Due to its complexity and variability, doctors tend to recommend a combination of treatment methods for pain management which can include over-the-counter pain relievers, topical treatments, physical therapy and psychological counselling.
Opioids are increasingly being prescribed for neuropathic pain. This is concerning because opioids carry a high risk of addiction, misuse, and overdose. Additionally, chronic use can lead to tolerance and dependence, making it harder to manage pain and increasing the potential for serious side effects. This trend contributes to the ongoing opioid crisis, straining public health resources and impacting patients’ overall well-being.
The varying causes, symptoms and scarce treatment options for this ‘invisible illness,’ plus its debilitating nature, illustrate the significant need for continued research and development of more effective and safer treatment options.
The Novo Holdings Seed Investments’ portfolio company, Hoba Therapeutics (‘Hoba’), is developing novel restorative therapeutic compounds targeting the peripheral nervous system to address the underlying causes of chronic neuropathic pain and hearing loss.
Based in Copenhagen, Hoba has leveraged its team’s expertise and breakthrough science in pain research, to develop a pipeline based on the discovery of a novel family of endogenous human proteins: meteorin and cometin. These neurotrophic factors are crucial for the migration, growth and survival of nerve cells during development, as well as the maintenance and plasticity of adult neurons.
The Danish biotech is developing two novel biopharmaceutical compounds, out of which the lead candidate is a non-opioid targeting neuropathic pain:
HB-086, Hoba’s lead candidate, is a non-opioid compound targeting Chemotherapy-Induced Chronic Neuropathy (CIPN) and other chronic pain indications.
Hoba was founded by Novo Holdings and Borean Innovation, an incubator funded by the Danish government in 2017. The Company recently raised €23m ($24.7m) in a Series A financing round to further develop its pipeline.
We spoke to Hoba’s Founder & Chief Development Officer (CDO), Kenneth A. Petersen, MD, PhD, Torsten M. Madsen, Chief Executive Officer, and Camilla Petrycer Hansen, Principal, Novo Holdings Seed Investments, to find out more about the Company, the recent fundraising, and outlook for the future.
What is Hoba’s mission?
Kenneth A. Petersen: Hoba is developing innovative, disease modifying therapies to alleviate, prevent and treat chronic neuropathic pain. Our mission is to develop more effective and safer options for those affected so they can continue living their lives without these debilitating conditions. Our pipeline has the potential to offer the first biopharmaceutical drugs for pain management. The impact will not only redefine the therapeutic landscape for these conditions but will position Hoba as an innovative company in the life science sector.
What are the key challenges in addressing the high unmet medical needs of neuropathic pain?
Torsten M. Madsen: Due to the complexity of the nervous system, there are many different types of neuropathic pain with varying causes and symptoms, hence the condition has long been considered a heterogeneous and difficult clinical issue to address, resulting in a lack of a gold standard diagnostic – and unsatisfactory responses to treatments. Additionally, due to all the variables with the condition, conducting clinical trials can be challenging with regards to both recruitment and variability in inherent challenges with relying on endpoints based solely on patient-reported pain scales.
At Hoba, we plan to address these challenges, initially by a strong focus on the lead indication, CIPN, which will ensure homogeneity of the pain syndrome and enable better clinical evaluation.
What advances and/or technologies does Hoba have to address these unmet medical needs?
Torsten M. Madsen: Our pipeline comprises two therapeutic proteins with unique actions on sensory nerve cells and surrounding support cells that are crucial for the migration, growth and for their maintenance and plasticity as adult neurons. Our lead asset HB-086 targets the peripheral nervous system through a unique mechanism of action (MoA) whereby it reverses neuropathic pain and has shown analgesic and long-lasting relief in multiple models of chronic neuropathic pain in preclinical data.
What does the development of Hoba’s pipeline mean for the Company and the future for patients suffering from chronic neuropathic pain?
Kenneth A. Petersen: Due to the unique properties of our pipeline drugs, meteorin and cometin, Hoba has the potential to produce the first biopharmaceutical drugs for pain management.
Torsten M. Madsen: The development of disease modifying therapies with minimal side effects provides a huge opportunity to bring significant benefit to those living with these debilitating conditions.
What are the upcoming milestones we can expect to see from Hoba in the next 12 months?
Torsten M. Madsen: Thanks to the €23 million ($25 million) secured in Series A fundraising, we will be advancing HB-086 through late pre-clinical development and Phase 1 clinical studies, specifically targeting CIPN as an initial indication for chronic neuropathic pain disorders.
What is the potential impact of Hoba’s lead candidate HB-086 in chronic neuropathic pain?
Kenneth A. Petersen: Chronic neuropathic pain is a debilitating condition that has major consequences for a patient’s daily routine, work ability and quality of life. The preclinical data for HB-086 have demonstrated long-lasting relief in different types of chronic neuropathic pain. Thus, the compound shows great potential in improving the quality of life for millions with the condition, which has long been a particularly challenging condition to diagnose and treat.
What excites you about Hoba?
Camilla Petrycer Hansen: Neuropathic pain has long been considered a clinically difficult condition to diagnose and treat. With its innovative pipeline based on a novel family of neurotrophic factors and their unique mode of actions, and a high-profile team of seasoned pharma executives, Hoba is meeting this challenge head on. Furthermore, the preclinical data for the Company’s lead program show unprecedented positive results across key neuropathic pain models, which is exciting and hopefully these effects will translate to patients.
What made Hoba stand out?
Camilla Petrycer Hansen: Hoba has presented a package of preclinical data, generated in multiple different labs and in various models of chronic pain. The robustness of this data along with the potential for disease modification in these debilitating disorders is attractive to us. The fast onset and long-lasting analgesic effects differentiate it from today’s standard of care and would bring great benefit to patients living with neuropathic pain. In addition, Hoba’s leadership team is comprised of seasoned industry professionals with decades of international leadership experience – spanning all phases of biotech, pharma and business development at companies including Syndesi Therapeutics, NatImmune, IO Biotech, Lundbeck, Roche, J&J and Genmab. Altogether this provides a great foundation for advancing Hoba’s therapies through the clinic, and ultimately bringing them to patients.
What was Novo Holdings’ role in the start of the Company?
Camilla Petrycer Hansen: Novo Holdings’ Seed Investments arm, the early-stage investment team, has a keen focus on company creation. It is a modality-agnostic investor and builds world-leading biotech companies by helping to back science that has the potential to have a major impact on patients. We can provide not only big capital but also strategic insight and top-level team building capability. Seed Investments was one of two founding investors of Hoba and we have provided capital, an investor and executive network, and know-how to ensure that Hoba had the optimal conditions for success.