Karolinska Development’s portfolio company Umecrine Cognition publishes data showing sustained effect of golexanolone in a Parkinson’s disease model
STOCKHOLM – September 4, 2025. Karolinska Development AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) today announces that its portfolio company Umecrine Cognition has presented data showing that its drug candidate golexanolone provides sustained reversal of neuroinflammation in a Parkinson’s disease model. The data, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Immunology, support a key mechanism for golexanolone in alleviating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, which paves the way for the use of golexanolone as a chronic treatment.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease hallmarked by motor symptoms and disrupted cognitive functions as well as mental health. The disorder is caused by the loss of nerve cells in the brain that produce the signaling substance dopamine, which leads to various symptoms reducing the patient’s well-being and quality of life. Umecrine Cognition is developing a new class of drugs to alleviate cognitive symptoms.
A preclinical study of golexanolone in a Parkinson’s disease model demonstrates that golexanolone completely reverses the activation of immune cells that drive neuroinflammation in the brain circuit controlling voluntary movement and posture. Further, it was shown that treatment with golexanolone completely reversed the increase of inflammation-promoting proteins in the disease model, providing robust protection against neuroinflammation already 3 weeks after disease onset. A re-examination after 9 weeks showed that golexanolone continued to counteract inflammation and helped restore protective immune cells. The findings indicate that golexanolone can normalize harmful brain inflammation that worsens symptoms over time, an effect that is sustained over time.
The study was conducted with the company’s academic collaborators at Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain. The results are published in the September issue of the scientific journal Frontiers in Immunology and are available here.
Karolinska Development’s ownership in Umecrine Cognition amounts to 73 percent before dilution.
For further information, please contact:
Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development AB
Phone: +46 73 982 52 02, e-mail: viktor.drvota@karolinskadevelopment.com
Johan Dighed, General Counsel and Deputy CEO, Karolinska Development AB
Phone: +46 70 207 48 26, e-mail: johan.dighed@karolinskadevelopment.com
TO THE EDITORS
About Karolinska Development AB
Karolinska Development AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) is a Nordic life sciences investment company. The company focuses on identifying breakthrough medical innovations in the Nordic region that are developed by entrepreneurs and leadership teams. The company invests in the creation and growth of companies that advance these assets into commercial products that are designed to make a difference to patient’s lives while providing an attractive return on investment to shareholders.
Karolinska Development has access to world-class medical innovations at the Karolinska Institutet and other leading universities and research institutes in the Nordic region. The company aims to build companies around scientists who are leaders in their fields, supported by experienced management teams and advisers, and co-funded by specialist international investors, to provide the greatest chance of success.
Karolinska Development has a portfolio of eleven companies targeting opportunities in innovative treatment for life-threatening or serious debilitating diseases.
The company is led by an entrepreneurial team of investment professionals with a proven track record as company builders and with access to a strong global network.
For more information, please visit www.karolinskadevelopment.com.
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