Zydus Lifesciences, a leading discovery-based, global pharmaceutical company announced today that a poster highlighting the company's oral small molecule NLRP3 inhibitor, ZYIL1, will be presented at the upcoming International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders to be held from August 27 – 30, 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Pankaj R. Patel, Chairman, Zydus Lifesciences said, "Parkinson's is a devastating disease with patients steadily losing the control on movements leading to unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness and difficulty with balance and coordination. Zydus has embarked on a novel disease modifying approach through inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation through ZYIL1, thereby decreasing α-synuclein expression and reducing neuroinflammation, which may potentially prevent neurodegeneration thereby controlling Parkinson's Disease. This is a step forward in our ongoing endeavour to developing novel therapies and addressing unmet healthcare needs of patients."

ZYIL1 is a novel oral small molecule NLRP3 inhibitor. Studies have demonstrated that ZYIL1 is highly potent and can suppress inflammation caused by NLRP3 inflammasome activation. ZYIL1 was found distributed in the brain & CSF of various nonclinical species including mice, rats and non-human primates. The efficacy of ZYIL1 has been established in a number of validated pre-clinical models of neuroinflammation and Parkinson's Disease. ZYIL1, has demonstrated desirable ADME profile, with good safety margin. In Phase I studies, ZYIL1 was found to be safe and well-tolerated in human volunteers.

Previously, Zydus had demonstrated efficacy of ZYIL1 in CAPS (Cryopyrin Associated Periodic Syndrome) patients, and was the first to establish the Phase 2 proofof-concept with an oral small molecule NLRP3 inhibitor in CAPS patients. The Phase-2 data of ZYIL1 in CAPS has now been published in "Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development". Zydus has been granted an 'Orphan Drug Designation' by the USFDA for ZYIL1 in treatment of patients with CAPS, a rare auto-inflammatory disease.