Catharina Svanborg
Chairman of the board, Hamlet BioPharma AB and Professor at Lund University
With inputs from colleagues:
Martin Erixon, Jakob Testad, Sid Chinchankar, Björn Wullt, Ines Ambite, Hien Tran
The exaggerated pain response in this patient group is very difficult to treat. New approaches are therefore essential.
Bladder pain syndrome (BPS), otherwise known as interstitial cystitis, is a chronic and socially debilitating long-term bladder condition, for which specific therapies remain unavailable.
Managing bladder pain syndrome effects
Symptoms of BPS may come and go, but patients can experience intense pelvic pain, a sudden urge to urinate and/or more frequent urination.
“In some cases, the pain is so bad that patients have trouble sleeping or keeping a job,” says Björn Wullt, Senior Urologist. Managing the pain with broadly used painkillers is often ineffective, but patients may be helped by morphine or — in severe circumstances — surgery.
A drug developed to inhibit excessive immune responses is being tested on patients with bladder pain syndrome, a chronic and debilitating condition in a phase II clinical trial. The results have been promising so far.
A significant proportion of patients
Björn Wullt, MD, PhD
responded positively to the treatment.
Immunomodulation treatment with promising results
The company is now conducting a controlled clinical trial with a drug called anakinra (IL-1RA), which neutralises the biological activity of potent pro-inflammatory molecules. “IL-1RA is a registered drug, commonly used to treat hyper-inflammatory diseases,” explains Ines Ambite, Scientist at Lund University and Hamlet BioPharma. “But no one had used it in patients with bladder pain before.”
The results of the trial have been positive. “A significant proportion of patients responded positively to the treatment,” notes Wullt. “Their pain was reduced and their quality of life increased.” Hamlet BioPharma has patented the use of anakinra for bladder pain.
This type of immunomodulation treatment works by blocking inflammation and pain. “We are now proceeding with a placebo-controlled phase II study,” reveals Wullt. “The preliminary results also look positive. We hope this therapy will offer real hope to patients with this debilitating pain disorder.”
