Today, in a press release Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation announced results of the MT-7117 ENDEAVOR study for EPP. MT-7117 (dersimelagon) is a synthetic, orally-administered, non-peptide small molecule, acting as agonist of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), the same receptor targeted by afamelanotide.
This is good news for the EPP patient community, whose needs have long been neglected by drug developers until afamelanotide rose on the EPP horizon in 2006. Having another industry player working to address patient needs could potentially lead to a therapeutic alternative and stimulate further knowledge around EPP and treatment attributes important to patients.
According to the press release, the results of the ENDEAVOR study will be presented at a scientific congress in early 2020. The IPPN looks very much forward to understanding more about the safety and efficacy of MT-7117 from these results as well as about the study design and the endpoints used to assess the potential of this drug candidate.