Kadmus Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Irvine-based developer of pain-fighting drugs, is looking for a corporate partner or a new shot of financing sometime this fall, according to its chief executive.
If Kadmus’ second-phase clinical trial results go well, the drug developer could be “a prime acquisition target,” said Patrick Walsh, the company’s chief executive.
Kadmus makes a topical drug for pain stemming from nerve endings. The drug could be used to treat shingles and other causes of neuropathic pain, according to Kadmus.
Kadmus hopes to start a third trial soon after the second wraps up, Walsh said. It is “tough to predict” when Kadmus’ drug could be ready for Food and Drug Administration consideration, he said.
The company hopes to have the drug, which for now goes by KDS-2000, on the market later this decade, according to Walsh.
Kadmus, which raised $15.3 million in venture funding last year, doesn’t have any sales yet. The 7-year-old company has raised more than $20 million to date.
In the past year, Kadmus has added workers, including a chemistry group and an office in Toronto.
The company has 20 workers, including 15 in Irvine.
For investors, Walsh is part of Kadmus’ appeal.
Earlier in his career, he served as president and chief operating officer of what then was Sicor Inc., the Irvine drug maker that’s now part of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Walsh oversaw what then was Gensia Sicor Inc.’s move from San Diego to Irvine.
In between, Walsh headed Atairgin Technologies Inc., an Irvine biotechnology company that targeted ovarian and breast cancer.
Atairgin, now known as LPL Technologies Inc., moved to Cleveland. Walsh said he wasn’t interested in moving.
Kadmus’ drugs are related to compounds called endocannabinoids, or signaling molecules that occur in the brain and regulate pain, emotions and body weight.
Endocannabinoids also resemble some chemicals related to marijuana. In a prior interview, Walsh was quick to distance the company from pot.
“We’re not working on what would be considered marijuana derivatives,” Walsh said. “It’s chemically different from what you would see for medical marijuana. This company doesn’t handle marijuana and we’re not using it as a starting substance.”
Marinol, a prescription drug made by the Unimed Pharmaceuticals subsidiary of Belgium’s Solvay SA and approved by the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration, is a synthetic marijuana derivative.
Kadmus’ products are based on work done from the University of California, Irvine, including work out of the laboratory of Daniele Piomelli, a UC Irvine pharmacology professor whose work Kadmus licensed.
The research could yield more products, according to Walsh.
“We have a platform that has a number of products that would be late-stage product candidates in another 12 to 24 months,” Walsh said.
Besides acute and chronic pain, Kadmus also is looking at using its compounds to treat obesity, liver disease, anxiety and depression.
