Based on pioneering
research on cerebral
circulation

The business is based on many decades of research regarding the regulation of cerebral circulation and vascular signalling, led by Professor Lars Edvinsson. This work has gradually revealed how the biological behaviour of blood vessels changes after a stroke or cerebral haemorrhage – not only due to the acute oxygen deprivation, but also as a result of a large number of molecular events that are set in motion after the initial damage. At the heart of this process is the MEK/ERK1/2 signalling pathway, a cellular chain reaction (known as a cascade reaction) that is activated by intracranial changes in pressure and reduced blood flow in the brain’s arteries. This signalling leads to an upregulation (increased number) of contractile receptors in the smooth muscle cells in the brain’s blood vessels, causing the vessels to contract – at precisely the time when they should be open to maximise the blood supply to the cells in the brain tissue. In the case of a cerebral haemorrhage, there is an initial local (at the site of the haemorrhage) reaction called a vasospasm.

The subsequent reaction caused by the increased intracranial pressure is something else: a delayed but critical chain reaction that affects the vascular system throughout the brain. This is known as DCI (delayed cerebral ischemia). DCI is not addressed by current treatments, but is the factor that leads to major damage to brain cells and is one of the main targets of Edvince’s drug candidates. In a phase 2a clinical trial regarding SAH, Edvince has demonstrated that early inhibition of the MEK/ERK1/2 signalling pathway prevents the onset of DCI and the secondary vasoconstriction, protects brain cells from oxygen deprivation, thereby improving both patient survival and neurological outcomes, and lowers long-term healthcare costs in society.

By developing drugs that target common disease mechanisms, Edvince is able to combine scientific efficiency with commercial scalability – thereby establishing itself as a leader in the next generation of treatments for acute neurological conditions.