| Mar. 31, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Maruho Co., Ltd. Toray Industries, Inc. . |
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Maruho, Toray Agree to Co-Develop and Market New Atopic Dermatitis Drug in Japan |
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Maruho Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka, President: Koichi Takagi, “Maruho,” hereinafter) and Toray Industries, Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President: Sadayuki Sakakibara; “Toray,” hereinafter) today announced that the companies reached an agreement to jointly develop and market TRK-820, a novel selective Κ(kappa) opioid receptor agonist discovered by Toray’s Pharmaceutical Research Laboratory, for treating itching of atopic dermatitis patients in Japan. Atopic dermatitis is primarily a chronic skin inflammation with severe itching, often found among patients with allergic diathesis. The prolonged and continuous severe itching that leads to reduced attention, sustained sleep deprivation and scratching leading to worsening of skin inflammation impairs the quality of life (QOL) of atopic dermatitis patients. Steroid ointments, while effective in controlling inflammation, are not effective in suppressing itching. Itching in atopic dermatitis is also known to be resistant to the existing antipruritic drugs (such as antihistamine agents) and the development of effective medicines has long been desired. TRK-820, the drug covered by this agreement, is a compound aimed to treat itching in atopic dermatitis patients. The compound is a selective opioid receptor agonist and is expected to be effective through a novel mechanism in treating itching that is resistant to existing treatments such as antihistamine agents.. The two companies are currently in the preparatory stage of joint clinical trials of the compound for treating atopic dermatitis. Further development would be jointly carried out by Maruho and Toray, with marketing to be handled by Maruho. Please refer to the accompanying material for details of TRK-820. Supplemental material |
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| 1. Characteristics of TRK-820 TRK-820 is a novel selective Κ(kappa) opioid receptor agonist, with a different mechanism from existing antipruritic drugs such as antihistamine. The drug is thought to suppress the pruritus mediated by the opioid-related mechanism and hence is expected to be effective in treating itching that is resistant to existing treatments such as antihistamine drugs. The compound is expected to make significant contributions to improve quality of life of atopic dermatitis patients. 2. Opioid receptors Receptors are on the surface of a cell membrane. When medical compounds bind to receptors, it triggers biological reactions. There are various types of receptors in the human body. Specific compounds bind only to specific receptors. The pharmacological action of substances depends on its receptors. Opioid receptors are one of the such receptors that combines with opioids and trigger reactions. Initially, it was thought that there was only one type of opioid receptor but advanced studies later uncovered three types of opioid receptors: µ(mu,) d(delta,) and Κ(kappa). 3. Agonists Drugs and/or compounds that target receptors are classified as agonists or antagonists. Agonist drugs and/or compounds activate, or stimulate, their receptors, triggering a response that increases or decreases the cell's activity. |
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| <Corporate Profiles> Maruho Co., Ltd. |
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Toray Industries, Inc.
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