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MedPharm collaborates with Mosanna to develop sleep apnea drug

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MedPharm and Mosanna Therapeutics are collaborating in the development of a nasal spray aimed at treating Metabolic Obstructive Sleep Apnea (MOSA). MedPharm delves into MOS- 118's drug delivery and effectiveness as a potential treatment with EPM.

Key highlights:

MedPharm announced that it will support Swiss Biotech company, Mosanna Therapeutics, in the development of a nasal spray (MOS-118) aimed at treating Metabolic Obstructive Sleep Apnea (MOSA).The collaboration will focus on advancing MOS-118 into clinical development.

MOSA is a disease that affects up to 1 billion globally. The repeated partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep is associated with adverse metabolic and cardiovascular events and can severely impact the quality of life for patients. 

Current treatment options

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most common way of treating MOSA currently, however, studies have shown that at least 30% of patients do not tolerate this form of treatment. Despite current SoC's effectiveness is recorded at 100% when used properly, the average patient only gets 3-4 hours of use per night, leaving the remaining 3-4 hours of sleep disrupted. During which can cause disruption to the patient’s metabolism because of hypoxia and stress caused by blood oxygen levels repeatedly dropping below 90%.

Over time, the accumulation can result in severe adverse cardiometabolic health outcomes. Even worse, many patients cannot tolerate the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine and having a sealed mask covering their nose and mouth. Therefore, the patient is exposed to these metabolic disruptions throughout the entire night.

Alternatively, some patients will take drastic measures and undergo permanent surgical interventions.

Drug delivery

MOS-118 is a K+ channel blocker. Located superficially in the nasopharyngeal epithelium are nerve endings that act as mechano-pressure sensors. MOS-118 will be deposited in the nasopharynx, diffuse into the epithelium and lower the activation potential of these nerves, thus amplifying the sensory input that these nerve pathways deliver to the brain. The brain will process this information and, in turn, increase airway muscle patency, reducing the likelihood of the airway collapsing and obstructing breathing during the night. The above feedback pathway is often referred to as the negative pressure reflex (NPR) and has been shown to be impaired with age.

MOS-118 will enable patients to control their sleep apnea for the full 7-8 hours of sleep per night by the application of MOS-118 nightly before bed using a convenient nasal delivery device. By controlling their sleep apnea for the entire night, patients can benefit from improved metabolic function, leaving them feeling energised and improving the quality of their life.

Collaboration for a good night's sleep

Mosanna is developing MOS-118 to prevent the airway from collapsing during sleep, whilst MedPharm will precisely engineer a product capable of delivering MOS-118 in a convenient spray, via the nose, to act locally in the upper airway overnight. Success of MOS- 118 deposition requires a specific and effective delivery device and formulation. If MOS-118 fails to be deposited in the nasopharynx and is swallowed or inhaled the drug will be ineffective as it has no systemic activity.

Therefore, MedPharm's proprietary in vitro nasal testing models will be used to optimise the formulation and delivery of the product into the nasal cavity.  

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