Company Logo



50 Best Companies to Watch 2023

EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals: Committed to making a difference in the lives of respiratory disease patients

EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals: Committed to making a difference in the lives of respiratory disease patients

EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals is at the forefront in discovering novel approaches to treat chronic respiratory diseases. Its research into the disease etiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has led to unique insights in inflammatory processes. EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals is an Icelandic clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a unique focus on impairment of epithelial barriers as a common mechanism of many inflammatory conditions such as the airway, gastrointestinal tract and skin. Its new class of orally-available macrolide candidate NCEs show promise as first-in-class disease-modifying therapeutics for COPD. EpiEndo's lead compound is a non-antibiotic analogue of azithromycin which modulates inflammation through strengthening the lung epithelium. The company is actively exploring additional potential applications for post COVID-19 treatment, where the established anti-inflammatory properties of its technology may be of value. The company operates an agile business with an experienced core team based across Iceland, Sweden, Germany and the UK, supported by global key opinion leaders and pulmonary specialists, with contractors and consultants filling other key functions.

The necessity of COPD

COPD is a slow progressing chronic respiratory disorder characterised by an obstructive ventilatory pattern which is not fully reversible. The primary causes of COPD in the developed world are tobacco smoking and pollution, while in developing countries, cooking over open fires is a major cause. Cigarettes are smoked by more than 1.1 billion people, nearly 20% of the world's population, while according to the WHO more than three billion people around the world cook their food and heat their homes with open or barely contained fires. A typical cooking fire produces about 400 cigarettes’ worth of smoke an hour. COPD is currently incurable. Today, management of COPD currently relies primarily on inhaled drugs, including long-acting adrenoceptor agonists (LABA), long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists (LAMA), and corticosteroids (ICS), however these treatments address symptoms only. Despite 50 years of active research in this pharmacotherapeutic area, there are still no clinical trials showing that any existing medications for COPD modify the long-term decline in lung function that characterizes this disease.

EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals to the Rescue: Treating Airway Diseases with Utmost Care

EpiEndo is developing first-in-class, disease-modifying drugs to address the global burden and high unmet need of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and viral airway diseases. COPD (chronic bronchitis and emphysema), asthma and cystic fibrosis are chronic lung diseases associated with chronic airway inflammation and epithelial dysfunction. Airway diseases represent some of the most important public health challenges because of their high prevalence, estimated at more than a quarter of a billion cases worldwide in 2019, increasing incidence and related disability and mortality.

EpiEndo's proprietary macrolide compounds exhibit a novel mechanism that enhances the integrity of the epithelial cell layer in the lung, which the company and its team believe may slow progression through reduction of underlying disease pathology. Exacerbations are attacks of restricted breathing, characterized by breathlessness, that become worse as the disease progresses, ultimately leading to death. Early intervention and avoidance of disease progression is therefore critical and EpiEndo's clinical treatment goal is to reduce the frequency, duration and severity of exacerbations.

Developing First-in-Class Drugs to Address Chronic Respiratory Diseases

EpiEndo’s new class of oral drugs, known as BarriolidesTM, has the potential to be first-in-class therapies for respiratory diseases and beyond. They have a unique approach to developing drugs for chronic inflammatory diseases, based on over 20 years of research into macrolides and their effects on the lung epithelium. The central focus of their pathophysiological models is on the integrity of the bronchial epithelial barrier, emphasizing its breakdown, maladaptation, and dysfunction caused by persistent or overwhelming injury to the airway's mucosal lining.

This shift in perspective establishes a new theoretical basis for understanding, diagnosing, and treating CADs as epithelial diseases rooted in membrane pathology and barrier failure, rather than considering them solely as inflammatory diseases characterized by immune pathology and inappropriate or hyperactive inflammatory responses.

The Path Ahead

Almost all drug development efforts for COPD continue to focus on an anti-inflammatory approach to treatment.  EpiEndo has strong support from world-leading KOLs for a new paradigm: that epithelial barrier insufficiency is a key driver of inflammation in chronic respiratory diseases. It has been shown that patients with COPD exhibit increased leakage across the lung epithelium. EpiEndo's compounds enhance the epithelial barrier, appearing to strengthen the junctions between cells and reducing leakage across the epithelium. Importantly EpiEndo's compounds are devoid of antibiotic activity which eliminates concerns about possible antibiotic resistance effects that might limit wider use of azithromycin. Azithromycin has been demonstrated to reduce exacerbations of COPD that are caused by bacterial and/or viral infections and air pollution, but when used chronically can lead to anti-microbial resistance. EpiEndo’s compounds are azithromycin analogues lacking anti-microbial activity, that have shown promising results for inhibiting airway inflammation and restoring epithelial integrity in preclinical models.

EpiEndo has strong support from world-leading KOLs for a new paradigm: that epithelial barrier insufficiency is a key driver of inflammation in chronic respiratory diseases. In human studies, it has been shown (unpublished data) that patients with COPD exhibit increased leakage across the lung epithelium. Pre-clinical studies of EpiEndo’s compounds in tests that represent insults from stimuli such as smoke, air pollution, endotoxins and viruses have shown very promising results, with better efficacy than the macrolide antibiotic azithromycin, currently shown to reduce exacerbations in COPD patients¹. Importantly EpiEndo's compounds are devoid of antibiotic activity which eliminates concerns about possible antibiotic resistance effects that might limit wider use of azithromycin.  Their compounds display anti-inflammatory effects that may prevent the complications associated with viral lung infections, such as influenza, RSV and possibly SARS-CoV-2, independent of and without any direct antiviral effect. The firm is accumulating pre-clinical data that move forward with trials to explore a potential role for the lead compounds to substitute for azithromycin, where indicated for viral lung infections.

The Visionary Leader

Maria Bech, MSc is the Chief Executive Officer of EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals. She has an in-depth knowledge of development strategies, clinical programs and study design, gained from more than 25 years’ experience working across the pharmaceutical industry from global project management to line management of a clinical/R&D dept. She also serves on the Board of Directors of four companies, of which three are listed: EQL Pharma, Iconovo, Paxman and Neuronano. Maria holds an MSc Molecular Biology from the University of Lund.

“Empowering a healthier future with an innovative approach - we are working to transform lives by treating diseases caused by epithelial dysfunction with our first-in-class, oral Barriolides™.”


Business News


Recommended News



Most Featured Companies

ciobulletin-aatrix software.jpg ciobulletin-abbey research.jpg ciobulletin-anchin.jpg ciobulletin-croow.jpg ciobulletin-keystone employment group.jpg ciobulletin-opticwise.jpg ciobulletin-outstaffer.jpg ciobulletin-spotzer digital.jpg ciobulletin-virgin incentives.jpg ciobulletin-wool & water.jpg ciobulletin-archergrey.jpg ciobulletin-canon business process services.jpg ciobulletin-cellwine.jpg ciobulletin-digital commerce bank.jpg ciobulletin-epic golf club.jpg ciobulletin-frannexus.jpg ciobulletin-growth institute.jpg ciobulletin-implantica.jpg ciobulletin-kraftpal technologies.jpg ciobulletin-national retail solutions.jpg ciobulletin-pura.jpg ciobulletin-segra.jpg ciobulletin-the keith corporation.jpg ciobulletin-vivolor therapeutics inc.jpg ciobulletin-cox.jpg ciobulletin-lanner.jpg ciobulletin-neuro42.jpg ciobulletin-Susan Semmelmann Interiors.jpg ciobulletin-alpine distilling.jpg ciobulletin-association of black tax professionals.jpg ciobulletin-c2ro.jpg ciobulletin-envirotech vehicles inc.jpg ciobulletin-leafhouse financial.jpg ciobulletin-stormforge.jpg ciobulletin-tedco.jpg ciobulletin-transigma.jpg ciobulletin-retrain ai.jpg
ciobulletin-abacus semiconductor corporation.jpg ciobulletin-agape treatment center.jpg ciobulletin-cloud4wi.jpg ciobulletin-exponential ai.jpg ciobulletin-lexrock ai.jpg ciobulletin-otava.jpg ciobulletin-resecurity.jpg ciobulletin-suisse bank.jpg ciobulletin-wise digital partners.jpg ciobulletin-appranix.jpg ciobulletin-autoreimbursement.jpg ciobulletin-castle connolly.jpg ciobulletin-cgs.jpg ciobulletin-dth expeditors.jpg ciobulletin-form.jpg ciobulletin-geniova.jpg ciobulletin-hot spring it.jpg ciobulletin-kirkman.jpg ciobulletin-matrix applications.jpg ciobulletin-power hero.jpg ciobulletin-rittenhouse.jpg ciobulletin-stt logistics group.jpg ciobulletin-upstream works.jpg ciobulletin-x2engine.jpg ciobulletin-kastle.jpg ciobulletin-logix.jpg ciobulletin-preclinical safety (PCS) consultants ltd.jpg ciobulletin-xcastlabs.jpg ciobulletin-american battery solutions inc.jpg ciobulletin-book4time.jpg ciobulletin-d&l education solutions.jpg ciobulletin-good good natural sweeteners llc.jpg ciobulletin-sigmetrix.jpg ciobulletin-syncari.jpg ciobulletin-tier44 technologies.jpg ciobulletin-xaana.jpg

Latest Magazines

© 2024 CIO Bulletin Inc. All rights reserved.