LONDON, Sep. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/Haoma Medica Announces Late-Breaking Science Results for Naquinate, as a New Way to Support Bone Health and Healthy Aging, at the ASBMR 2022 Annual Meeting

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Haoma Medica announced at a presentation made at the 2022 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research:

Dr Stephen Hodges, Lead Investigator presented 'A vitamin K catabolite regulates Wnt 16-mediated B-catenin activation leading to increased osteoblast proliferation, with enhanced expression of osteocalcin and osteoprotegrin'.

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Previous studies have shown Naquinate, a vitamin K catabolite, to protect against reduction in bone quality and quantity occurring in response to ovariectomy in rat and mouse models. In the data presented today using primary human femoral osteoblasts, Naquinate increased osteoblast proliferation after 3 days compared to control cultures. Cell extracts revealed enhanced expression of osteocalcin, osteoprotegrin and Wnt16 with translocation of B-catenin to the cell nucleus. In a parallel study using liver microsomes in the presence/absence of vitamin K, Naquinate did not affect gamma-carboxylation of osteocalcin.

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'These results indicate a dual action for Naquinate on both bone resorption and bone formation pathways and shows that Naquinate does not work through the often-proposed classical bone actions of vitamin K. Naquinate itself appears to have a different and unique biological activity compared to vitamin K. Wnt16 is more active in cortical and Naquinate may be involved in regulating the cortical bone thickness and porosity,' said Dr Stephen Hodges, presenting author.

 

LONDON, Haoma Medica announced today the completion of a first-in-human trial for NaQuinate, a naphthoquinone carboxylic acid, which is being developed as a novel orally administered therapeutic for osteoporosis. 

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''We are delighted that the first-in-human study has completed its last dosing. There were no significant safety or tolerability concerns up to the highest doses tested which underlines our expectation that NaQuinate is safe and well tolerated,'' said Dr Cenk Oguz, Haoma Medica's Chief Medical Officer.

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'Our pre-clinical research has revealed an exciting feature of NaQuinate where it appears to have the capacity to work in harmony with the body's natural response to weight bearing exercise to synergistically enhance bone formation when and where required – now that would be a 'smart' drug,' said Dr Steve Deacon, Haoma Medica's CEO.

 

'Together with the safety data from this first-in-human study, this supports the potential that NaQuinate treatment could provide a safe, novel and smart therapeutic approach to bone disorders like osteoporosis and better maintain healthy skeletal aging.

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