A University of Aberdeen pre-spinout company will take the next ‘crucial’ step towards bringing a brand-new type of blood pressure medication to patients thanks to a funding award from the Scottish Funding Council.
The £125k award from the ‘Proof of Concept’ scheme will see the University-led drug development pre-spinout group DIOKA Therapeutics test whether their revolutionary new idea will work beyond the cellular level that has already proven more successful than they could have imagined.
This next step of the project will involve testing whether these medications are effective to reduce blood pressure in animal models, the optimum dose and several other factors that need to be considered before moving to human trials.
Hypertension or high blood pressure is the leading cause of early death worldwide and current treatments are not always effective, can cause numerous side effects like headaches, dizziness on standing, swelling of the ankles and nausea. These contribute to the fact that up to 50 percent of people stop taking the medication within 1 year of being prescribed.
Led by Dr Guy Bewick, Senior Lecturer in Neurosciences at the University of Aberdeen and Chief Scientific Officer in DIOKA, the team have identified molecules that selectively activate ‘sensors’ in the body that monitor blood pressure. These molecules make the sensors more sensitive to changes in blood pressure which then encourages the body’s normal reflexes to respond and return blood pressure to normal. This is a unique approach to treating high blood pressure because it takes advantage of the body’s natural blood pressure regulatory circuit.
Dr Bewick explains: “This is a crucial next step to translating our findings to the clinic. We have done all the cell work we can in the lab. We found the drug target in these sensors and identified what it is. We characterised it pharmacologically, so we could then develop selective drugs. We then showed that these work in isolated tissues. This is all very promising. But, we need to show that it actually does produce the beneficial effects we predict and would be therapeutically useful without causing harm.
“We will use telemetry to measure blood pressure in different animal models of high blood pressure. The drugs will be tested for efficacy, toxicity and how long they are effective.
“There is a huge unmet demand - current high blood pressure medications have a high rate of side effects. Fifty percent of people stop taking drugs within a year. Even for people that stick to their medication regime, a large proportion still do not have a blood pressure in the normal range. Indeed, around 15 percent of people hardly respond to current drugs at all.
“So, new, more effective drugs against new targets are needed.
“If successful, we are developing the only drug therapy that actually specifically targets the neural mechanism whose sole purpose is to sense and regulate blood pressure, to help that system restore its normal sensitivity.”
Professor David Blackbourn, CEO of DIOKA Therapeutics and Head of the School of Medicine, Medical Science and Nutrition at the University of Aberdeen added: “This is a wonderful example of the kind of innovation we’re proud to support at Aberdeen.
“This is research that’s not just academically exciting but has real potential to change lives. The whole DIOKA Therapeutics team has contributed towards the discovery of a completely new way to help the body regulate blood pressure.
“It’s still early days, but the science is strong and we are committed to helping ideas like this move from the lab into the world, where they can make a real difference.”
Dr Robert Banks, Chief Scientific Adviser at DIOKA Therapeutics and Academic Visitor at Durham University said: “It is very pleasing to think that our curiosity-led research may lead to important practical health benefits.”
Professor Nicholas Forsyth, Vice-Principal (Research) at the University of Aberdeen said: “I am not surprised at all to see that DIOKA were successful in winning this considerably competitive funding award. Watching DIOKA continually progress exemplifies the transformative potential of University of Aberdeen-led innovation.
"DIOKA Therapeutics is a shining example of how world-class research at Aberdeen can translate into real-world impact addressing one of the most pressing global health challenges with a bold, novel approach.
“We are proud to support this journey from lab bench to bedside, and grateful to the Scottish Funding Council for recognising the promise of this pioneering work.”
Support for commercialisation was provided through the DIOKA team’s participation in the ICURe Discover programme in Aberdeen sponsored by the University of Aberdeen and Opportunity North East.