Swedish pharma firm announces Eurostars grant win

A Swedish pharmaceutical company has announced that it is to receive a €0.9m grant from Eurostars for a project proposal relating to the late stage development of a pain relief project for oral mucositis (OM).

The Eurostars project ‘BUPI – a long-acting lozenge with bupivacaine for pain relief of oral mucositis in cancer patients’ will be managed by Moberg Pharma. The venture includes six external partners in Sweden and Denmark, namely Oracain ApS, TFS Trial Form Support ApS, Aarhus University Hospital, University Hospital Herlev, PCG Clinical Services AB, and Skåne University Hospital. The funding from Eurostars will co-finance late-stage development of the product, including a clinical phase III study.

Commenting, Peter Wolpert, chief executive of Moberg Pharma AB, said: “We are delighted to receive the Eurostars grant in strong competition with many other applications across Europe. The grant supports our efforts to provide a longer and more effective pain relief to cancer patients suffering from OM. We expect to report topline results from the ongoing phase II study on BUPI later this year.”

OM is a painful inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membranes lining the mouth. OM is a common and often debilitating complication of cancer treatment that affects 80% of patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy, almost all patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation, and a wide range of patients receiving chemotherapy.

Eurostars is a joint programme between EUREKA and the European Commission, co-funded from the national budgets of 34 participating states and partner countries as well as the EU through Horizon 2020. Eurostars supports international innovative projects led by R&D-performing SMEs.