Acorda Therapeutics Licenses Rights to Study New Treatment for Catastrophic Spinal Cord and Traumatic Brain Injuries
NY-based Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. has licensed worldwide development and commercialization rights to a proprietary magnesium formula (referred to as AC105) from Medtronic, Inc. Acorda plans to study AC105 as an acute treatment for traumatic neurological conditions, including spinal cord injury (SCI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
According to Ron Cohen, M.D., Acorda's President and CEO, "Acorda has significant experience in the area of spinal cord injury and other neurological injury research. We are excited to leverage that expertise to continue the clinical development of AC105, potentially providing a new therapy to people who suffer debilitating central nervous system injuries."
With this move, Acorda will have exclusive development and commercialization rights in all fields (SCI, TBI and stroke) for certain formulations of the licensed compound. For other formulations, Acorda secured rights exclusive to medical indications in which it’s interested, including SCI, TBI, stroke and all other traumatic and ischemic central nervous system indications. Medtronic retains non-exclusive development rights for specific conditions that include pain and musculoskeletal indications.
Acorda's Chief Scientific Officer, Andrew R. Blight, Ph.D., commented on the significance of this arrangement: "Spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries often result in severe, lifelong disability. This places an enormous burden on the person suffering the injury, their caregivers and the healthcare system. The situation is compounded because most spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries occur in young people, leading to long-term care and quality of life issues. Since there are currently no FDA-approved therapies for either SCI or TBI, we are excited to continue research on AC105 to determine its value in improving outcomes for people who suffer these very serious injuries."
