Novartis, a global healthcare company, has entered into an agreement to acquire Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a US and Australian-based, privately held development stage company, focused on developing EMA401, a novel angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) antagonist to treat neuropathic pain.

The acquisition added EMA401 to Novartis' industry-leading development pipeline. EMA401 is a differentiated treatment for neuropathic pain acting outside the blood-brain barrier, which is expected to avoid significant central nervous system side effects.

It is estimated that up to 7 to 8 per cent of the adult population suffer from chronic pain with neuropathic characteristics. Neuropathic pain is a chronic condition with high unmet medical need as approximately 40 per cent of patients do not respond to current first-line treatment and a further 25 per cent do not respond to second-line treatment options. Leveraging peripheral targets, such as an AT2R antagonist, is an emerging and promising approach to neuropathic pain treatment because peripheral targets act outside the blood-brain barrier and therefore are expected to be devoid of common side effects in the central nervous system, such as dizziness or confusion.

"Neuropathic pain is a chronic and debilitating condition with high unmet need. EMA401 could provide a novel, differentiated treatment approach to provide relief for patients and healthcare providers worldwide," said David Epstein, head of Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Positive results from Spinifex's phase II clinical trial of EMA401 in post-herpetic neuralgia, a painful condition that develops in some people following herpes zoster (shingles), have been published in The Lancet, showing its efficacy. No central nervous system side effects or any serious adverse events have been observed in the study. Financial terms were not disclosed.