Innovative
Cachexia Treatment

Pephexia Therapeutics is a biotechnology company working with the discovery and development of novel peptide-based pharmacotherapies for an effective and convenient treatment of cachexia, sarcopenia, and related diseases.

FOCUS AREA

Cancer-cachexia is a wasting syndrome that occurs in up to 80% of cancer patients and is the primary cause of death for 1 in 4 of cancer patients1.

Cancer-associated cachexia is a multifactorial metabolic syndrome that is characterized by unintended loss of body weight, with specific losses of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue2. It occurs in up to 80% of cancer patients and is the primary cause of death for up to 30% of cancer patients1. The main symptoms for patients include severe weight loss, anorexia, weakness and fatigue. Furthermore, cancer-associated cachexia has distinctive tumour-driven components and leads to progressive functional impairment, increased risk of treatment failure and toxicity, poor quality of life and cancer-related mortality2.

The disorder is driven by a variable combination of reduced food intake and metabolic changes which distinguishes cachexia from other forms of weight loss. Tumour-related proinflammatory cytokine secretion is one of the main mechanisms underlying cancer cachexia3. The secreted cytokines have a catabolic and anorexigenic effect leading to metabolic abnormalities such as dysregulated appetite signalling, increased energy expenditure, increased lipolysis and reduced lipid storage, and accelerated muscle protein degradation and impaired protein synthesis4.

These metabolic changes can not be reversed by dietary or parenteral nutritional supplementation alone, making the management of cancer cachexia particularly challenging and there is still a large unmet medical need for novel and efficacious pharmacotherapies to improve the quality of life and survival of these patients.

References: 1Fortune Business Insights: Cancer cachexia – pipeline review 2019. 2Fearon, K. et al. Definition and classification of cancer cachexia: an international consensus. Lancet Oncol 12, 489–495 (2011). 3Tisdale, M. J. Catabolic mediators of cancer cachexia. Curr Opin Support Palliat Care 2, 256–261 (2008). 4Baracos, V. E., Martin, L., Korc, M., Guttridge, D. C. & Fearon, K. C. H. Cancer-associated cachexia. Nat Rev Dis Primers 4, 17105 (2018)

12000000
PATIENTS AFFECTED
1500000
DEATHS PER YEAR
MISSON

We aim to deliver a novel, innovative, and effective pharmacotherapy for the treatment of cachexia based on naturally occurring peptide hormones.

TEAM

The Team
Board of Directors
Scientific Advisory Board
Advisors

NEWS

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Cancer Cachexia Syndrome

A few facts about cachexia

The major underlying diseases of cachexia are COPD, Cancer and Congestive Heart Failure1. As an example up to 40% of patients with COPD experience muscle wasting2.

1Von Haehling et al. (2016) JCSM 7 (5), 507-509; 2Sanders et al (2016) JCSM 7 (1), 5-22.

Cachexia in cancer is responsible for around 20% deaths among cancer patients globally3.

3Fortune Business Insights: Cancer cachexia – pipeline review 2019.

Cachexia in COPD is associated with 50% reduction in median survival4.

4Wagner et al. (2008) Eur Respir J 31, 492-501.

CONTACT

Pephexia Therapeutics ApS
VAT number 41319208

Nordre Fasanvej 215
DK-2000 Frederiksberg C
Denmark

info@pephexia.com