A word from the CEO

Neuroprotection, or nerve cell protection, means protecting brain tissue from being damaged or affected permanently. This has been a constant thread running through my scientific career and my work as a physician for many years.

When patients arrive at emergency rooms around the world with head injuries or suffer from stroke or prolonged seizure activity, there are no drugs on the market which act on brain tissues to prevent nerve cells dying, a process which continues for hours, or even days, after patients reach the hospital.

Acute brain damage

Healthcare staff do a great deal to prevent the damage accelerating, such as by regulating the patient’s body temperature, blood pressure and intracranial pressure, but their hands are tied when it comes to preventing the initial damage spreading. Acute brain damage can also occur in scheduled cardiovascular surgery and in cases of cardiac arrest. Altogether, there are a very large number of patients who could benefit from treatment with nerve-cell-protecting drugs, mainly in connection with acute injuries and conditions, but also during scheduled operations where the blood supply to the brain is affected.

Patent rights granted

What is unique about NeuroVive is that global patent rights have been granted for our technology, and we have products which are well on the way to being clinically used.

Our research

Based on research at Lund University, we have developed and patented potential new nerve-cell-protecting drugs directed at a completely new but very important function in damaged nerve cells – their energy supply. The preclinical trials we have conducted have been very promising.

Next steps

The next step is clinical trials in humans. In parallel to the clinical trials, we are also continuing our research and development into evaluating potential new drugs, carrier media and administration routes for treating stroke, status epilepticus and spinal cord injuries.

Our potential

I am confident that, once clinical trials are complete, we will be able to help patients with traumatic brain damage, status epilepticus, stroke and spinal cord injuries and protect the brain during scheduled cardiovascular surgery. And, along the way, we hope to help patients in connection with organ transplants by providing a cremophore-free intravenous cyclosporine-A product.

Eskil Elmér CEO and CSO, NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB (publ.)
M.D. Ph.D. Associate professor of experimental neurology at Lund University