Herantis Pharma Plc ("Herantis") announced it submitted a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) to the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea, the national competent authority for regulating pharmaceuticals. The Phase 1 study, which includes assessment of safety, tolerability, and blood-brain barrier penetration in healthy volunteers, will be carried out in Finland. HER-096 is a peptidomimetic molecule designed to retain the biological activity of the neuroprotective CDNF protein.

HER-096 has demonstrated to have a multimodal mechanism of action mimicking CDNF and to improve functional recovery of damaged neurons in preclinical models. Importantly, HER-096 has been shown to readily penetrate the blood brain barrier in preclinical studies allowing convenient subcutaneous dosing. Thanks to its multimodal mechanism of action, Herantis' HER-096 has the potential to stop the progression of Parkinson's disease and significantly improve patients' quality of life.