The Groningen pharmaceutical company Sulfateq has developed a drug that may combat a range of chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, heart failure, kidney failure and diabetes.
After years of preliminary research, the drug, called SUL-238, has been tested on humans for the first time last week. In the world of pharmaceuticals this is referred to as phase 1 of research into new medicines. It doesn’t happen often that a Northern Dutch company makes it this far with a new medicine. “What makes our discovery unique for our region is that we have put together a new molecule,” says Guido Krenning, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Sulfateq. “We did not continue with something that already existed, but we created something completely new.”
Alzheimer’s
Of the medicines that reach this stage of research, an average of 7 percent actually reaches the market. Krenning and CEO Kees van der Graaf believe that SUL-238 has a much greater chance of success. If follow-up research is successful, permission could be granted in 2028 to market SUL-238 as a drug against Alzheimer’s and possibly also heart and kidney failure. Sulftateq has joined forces with a Turkish company that conducts research on humans.
Been working on it since 2011
It is exceptional that a small company like Sulfateq gets this far in developing a new medicine. It has been tried on hamsters, pigs and mice with conditions, among others. The Groningen company has been working on it since 2011. The research was largely financed with the income from other Van der Graaf companies. One of them produces pregnancy tests.