In a move that expands its line of non-opioid pain medications, Baltimore-based Centrexion Therapeutics has acquired three new analgesic candidates from Boehringer Ingelheim. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The drugs acquired from Boehringer Ingelheim treat inflammatory, neuropathic and mixed pain – and, importantly, are designed to be non-addictive. This is a lucrative area, given the country’s ongoing painkiller abuse crisis. Boehringer Ingelheim offloaded the drugs, it said in a statement, because it’s shifting away from pain medications to focus on CNS diseases like Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and depression.
And Centrexion’s pipeline is already rich with various non-addictive pain drugs. Its lead candidate, CNTX-4975, is testing an injectable form of capsaicin – an extract of the chili plant – to temper chronic pain in patients with osteoarthritis. It’s in Phase 2 trials.
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CNTX-6970, a small molecule treating inflammatory pain, is in Phase 1 trials, which Centrexion now wrap up. The other two candidates, CNTX-6016 and CNTX-0290, are both IND-ready.
Notably, the Centrexion team is made up of a number of pharma heavy hitters: Kindler is the former chairman and CEO of Pfizer, and its board director is Sol Barer, former chairman of Celgene. The company was launched in November 2013, and has raised $58 million to date.
