Our Products

Pharmaceutical

KIACTA™ (eprodisate)
KIACTA™ (eprodisate) is an oral investigational product candidate for the treatment of AA amyloidosis which received Orphan Drug Status designation in the United States and Orphan Medicinal Product designation in Europe.  AA amyloidosis is a life-threatening orphan disease that affects approximately 50,000 individuals in the United States, Europe and Japan with long-lasting inflammatory conditions, most commonly due to rheumatoid arthritis. The most common clinical presentation of AA amyloidosis is renal dysfunction that often rapidly leads to dialysis and eventually death.

KIACTA™ was investigated in a landmark international, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and parallel-designed clinical trial in which 183 AA amyloidosis patients were enrolled at 27 sites around the world. The results of the Phase II/III clinical trial for KIACTA™ demonstrate that this product candidate offers important clinical benefits to patients by reducing the progression of AA amyloidosis-associated renal disease. These results were published in the June 7, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

On April 29, 2010, BELLUS Health entered into a strategic partnership with global pharmaceutical fund Celtic Therapeutic pursuant to which Celtic Therapeutics acquired and licensed worldwide rights related to KIACTA™ (eprodisate) and will fund 100% of KIACTA™'s development costs through its confirmatory Phase III clinical study and other development activities.  Celtic Therapeutics will also complete all other requirements for KIACTA™'s regulatory approval. It will then conduct an auction process for the commercialization rights of KIACTA™. The overall proceeds of the auction process are expected to be shared equally between BELLUS Health and Celtic Therapeutics.

The confirmatory Phase III clinical study on KIACTA™ was initiated on December 14, 2010.

NRM8499 (prodrug of tramiprosate)
NRM8499, a prodrug* of tramiprosate, is intended for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, which affects more than 30 million patients worldwide.

NRM8499 was previously identified by BELLUS Health as a compound which increases the brain exposure to tramiprosate. Preclinical studies conducted in rodents showed that NRM8499 increased plasma and brain exposure to tramiprosate by 1.5 to 3 fold. Based on the knowledge acquired through the tramiprosate development program concerning this compound and the Company's enhanced understanding of Alzheimer's disease acquired through more than 15 years of preclinical and clinical research in this field, BELLUS Health believes that an increase in the exposure of tramiprosate to the brain may help improve the therapeutic effect on cognitive function and other clinical outcomes in Alzheimer's disease.

A Phase I clinical study for NRM8499 was initiated by BELLUS Health during the first quarter of 2010. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile of NRM8499 in a group of 67 young and elderly healthy subjects.

Results of the Phase I clinical study for NRM8499 were announced in the first quarter of 2011 and indicated that NRM8499 was safe and well tolerated at the intended therapeutic dose. Moreover, the gastrointestinal tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile of tramiprosate, with regards to the inter-individual variability in drug systemic exposure, were meaningfully improved with NRM8499 when compared to the administration of an equivalent dose of tramiprosate. BELLUS Health is currently seeking a potential partnership to pursue the development process of NRM8499.

*A prodrug is a pharmaceutical substance which is administered in an inactive form and, once absorbed, is metabolized in vivo into its active form in this case, tramiprosate. The benefits of using prodrugs are predominantly improved pharmacokinetics whereby more of the active compound reaches the target organs and systems, thus improving efficacy.

Nutraceutical

VIVIMIND™ - to protect memory function

After over 15 years of significant scientific research, including clinical testing with over 2,000 individuals in 50 U.S. and 17 Canadian medical centres, and hundreds of millions of dollars invested, VIVIMIND™ has been scientifically proven to protect memory function, based on the naturally occurring ingredient, homotaurine. VIVIMIND™ is now available for consumers.

VIVIMIND™ is a patented product based on the ingredient homotaurine, a naturally occurring amino acid with unique properties found in certain seaweed. VIVIMIND™ (homotaurine) is proven to have beneficial effects on brain structure, as well as memory.

BELLUS Health entered into distinct partnerships to distribute and commercialize VIVIMIND™ in Canada, Italy and certain countries of the Middle East. The Company continues to actively pursue arrangements to distribute VIVIMIND™ in other markets.