Approximately 400,000 people in the United States are living with MS. Worldwide, more than 2.1 million people are afflicted with the disease, many with different symptoms and levels of severity.
The disease is unpredictable. While treatments and medication currently on the market can help slow down the attacks, there is no cure.
Yet.
But the cure for MS just might be sitting right in southeastern Wisconsin’s backyard.
Endece LLC, a Mequon-based drug discovery company, recently formed Endece Neural, a subsidiary company focused on neurological drug development. More specifically, Endece Neural is pursing the development of a drug that could help repair and even reverse the damage caused by MS.
Endece’s work is getting some attention in the world of MS research.
“We’re very excited about the Endece compounds,” said Jay Tung, president of drug discovery at the Myelin Repair Foundation in San Francisco.
Endece hopes to collect enough data so the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will accelerate clinical testing enough to have the drug on the market in five to seven years.
“We’ve already proven that our compound and even our backup compounds work in in vitro (in Petri dish) environments,” said James Yarger, chief executive officer of Endece.