CombiGene AB and Zyneyro ApS announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement regarding the continued development of Zyneyro's peptide- and AAV-based treatment of chronic pain conditions. The agreement with Zyneyro is a cooperation agreement that means that Zyneyro and CombiGene share the project's costs and revenues equally. According to the agreement CombiGene will pay Zyneyro an upfront of DKK 5 million in connection with the signing of the agreement.

CombiGene has furthermore committed to pay an additional maximum of DKK 11.4 million in continued development support towards clinical Phase 1. The peptide-based treatment is expected to be ready for the first human dosing in 2025, while the AAV-based treatment will need additional development time to reach the same point. Pain is a major global problem. About 20% of the world's population suffers from some form of chronic pain.

In the United States, it is estimated that between four and eight percent of the population is affected by High Impact Chronic Pain. Conventional treatment of severe pain consists primarily of anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants, antispasmodic drugs, and opioids (a group of substances with a morphine-like mechanism of action). The problem with these treatments is that they are not specifically developed to treat chronic pain.

The pain relief that is achieved often has a number of disabling side effects such as addiction problems, depression, anxiety, fatigue, impaired physical and mental ability, and harmful impact on the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems. In the United States, an estimated 700,000 people have died due to opioid abuse in the past 20 years. A unique concept. The pain program is developed to offer effective pain relief without the side effects that today's treatments often give rise to.

This is possible thanks to Zyneyro's researchers having identified a new biological mechanism of action, which forms the basis for the drug candidates. The program consists of two drug candidates: a peptide treatment (short-term treatment) and a gene therapy treatment with potentially lifelong effect. The patient's clinical picture and potentially other factors will guide the choice of drug candidate.