EF-011 | Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment

EF-011

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Treatment

Our dedication lies in treating rare diseases

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an orphan disease. Due to the small number of patients, treating orphan diseases may not be economically viable without public incentives and regulatory interests.
Our mission is to develop orphan drugs for the treatment of rare diseases. Firstly, due to the lack of effective treatment options, the survival rate of orphan diseases is relatively low. Additionally, there is lower risk of competition from secondary products launched by competitors. Furthermore, developing orphan drugs provides more opportunities to enter into licensing agreements with global pharmaceutical partners, enabling us to rapidly gain market share.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is the most common form of interstitial lung disease (ILD) with unknown etiology, characterized by progressive fibrosis of the lung interstitium.
The incidence of IPF is approximately 2 to 10 cases per 100,000 individuals, with a prevalence of 14 to 43 cases per 100,000 individuals. It is estimated that there are around 130,000 cases in the United States alone.
Lack of effective treatment: Currently, treatments for pulmonary fibrosis only aim to slow down the progression of lung fibrosis, thus reducing the risk of mortality and improving the quality of life for patients by delaying the decline in lung function.
High mortality rate: The median survival period for diagnosed IPF patients is 2-3 years. In recent years, there has been an increasing incidence of lung cancer related to IPF, with worse outcomes compared to IPF alone. Research suggests a close association between IPF and the development of lung cancer.

Our Innovative Approach

Using small molecule drugs as a key therapy

Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease characterized by the accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, such as collagen, elastin, and fibronectin, in the lung interstitium, resulting in scar-like tissue formation. This prolonged fibrosis leads to loss of lung tissue elasticity, gradually impairing its ability to contract, relax, and exchange gases.

EF-011 is an innovative therapeutic drug used to treat Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Our research has identified a specific binding site for SOX2 in the promoter of type I collagen. EF-011 reduces the binding of SOX2 to the type I collagen promoter, thereby inhibiting the expression and accumulation of type I collagen. Treatment with EF-011 significantly improved tissue pathology and respiratory function in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mice. Functional assessments, including respiratory rate, cumulative ventilation, maximal inspiratory volume, and maximal expiratory volume, showed that the treatment index was 20 times higher than that of the small molecule pulmonary fibrosis drug pirfenidone. This result demonstrates the therapeutic efficacy of the small molecule EF-011 in pulmonary fibrosis.

Mechanism of action of EF-011 in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis

In a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse model, promoter binding enhances collagen expression in fibroblasts. EF-011 inhibits SOX2 expression, and its binding to the collagen promoter prevents fibrosis formation both in vitro and in vivo.

The symbols in the diagram represent:
⊥:Inhibition of gene expression; Upward arrow ↑: Increase in TGF-β levels.

產品概況

Product Name

EF-011

Disease

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)

Target Market

North America, Europe, Asia, China, Japan, others

Market Size

In 2015, the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) market was approximately over 900 million US dollars. It is expected to significantly increase to 3.2 billion US dollars by 2025, according to GlobalData.

Competition Size

There are only two drugs on the market that effectively reduce the risk of acute exacerbations of the disease. However, they only slow down the rate of decline in lung function and cannot cure the disease or reverse the symptoms.

Objective Size

Committed to capturing 15% of the market share through direct competition.