An AMPA/kainate (AK) receptor antagonist, tezampanel offers a non-narcotic, non-vascular approach to the management of headache pain and represents a potentially promising alternative to current migraine treatments.
The primary efficacy endpoint is headache pain relief at two hours post-dose. Secondary efficacy endpoints include pain free at two hours, sustained pain relief and sustained pain free at 24 hours, and headache recurrence and relapse.
“We believe that tezampanel will not only relieve the acute pain associated with migraine, but also address the underlying mechanisms that precipitate the migraine,” said Neil Kurtz, President and CEO of TorreyPines.
TorreyPines' follow-on compound, NGX426, is an oral prodrug of tezampanel and is in phase I testing. Both compounds may effectively relieve severe and persistent pain through a mechanism that may not impart the side effects and risks associated with currently available migraine and other chronic pain treatments.