Umecrine Mood AB

The Challenge

Severe pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) and pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) affect over 15 % of all fertile women¹. These women suffer from recurrent depression, irritability, mood swings and anxiety, which adversely affect their ability to work and live a normal life. Symptoms occur the week before menstruation due to the effects of endogenous CNS-active steroids from the corpus luteum that affects the GABA system in the brain's emotional center.

Umecrine Mood's Solution

Umecrine Mood is developing pharmaceuticals that inhibit the action of the provoking CNS-active steroid in the brain's emotional center. The first drug candidate is a non-hormonal GABA_A modulating steroid antagonist (GAMSA). It is designed to mitigate the action of the CNS-active steroids responsible for the negative pre-menstrual mood changes in women with PMDD and severe PMS.

Competitive Advantages

Umecrine Mood's treatment is being developed specifically for PMDD. Current treatment offered to sufferers of PMDD are mainly anti-depressants. Their efficacy is moderate and usually has side effects, causing many patients to discontinue treatment.

Umecrine Mood's discovery represents a novel treatment principle and the drug candidate is the first in its class.

The Market

More than seven million women suffer from PMDD in Europe and the US alone². From a health economics perspective, an effective treatment for these conditions can be expected to be well received.  As such, there is significant market potential for a new treatment within this Women's Health/CNS segment.

Status

• A drug candidate and two back-up compounds have been identified
• The mechanism of action has been established
• Proof-of-principle has been demonstrated in vitro and in animal models for anxiety and PMDD. It has also been shown clinically using a biomarker for PMDD in healthy women
• The drug candidate has an excellent safety profile and is currently at the Phase I clinical stage