Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

If you suffer from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD, you may experience persistent heartburn, a pain in your chest, hoarseness in the morning, or trouble swallowing. You may feel like you have food stuck in your throat, acid regurgitation, or that your throat is tight. You may also have a dry cough.

GERD occurs when stomach contents leak back, or reflux, into the esophagus. It is a digestive disorder caused by inappropriate relaxations of the lower esophageal sphincter, which is a combination of muscles that controls the opening of the junction between the esophagus and the stomach. GERD results in discomfort and potential damage to the lining of the esophagus.

If you experience the symptoms of GERD, you're not alone. Approximately 6% of the global population experiences GERD symptoms daily. Anyone, including infants, children and pregnant women, can have GERD. The underlying cause of GERD is unknown, but factors that are associated with GERD include Hiatal hernia, in which part of the stomach protrudes through the esophageal opening of the diaphragm, alcohol use, smoking, being overweight or pregnant.

XenoPort's Approach to the Treatment of GERD

XenoPort has created a new drug candidate, XP19986, to treat the symptoms of GERD. The parent drug of XP19986 is a form of baclofen, which was approved for the treatment of spasticity in the 1970s. Baclofen has recently been the subject of investigator-led clinical trials that suggest it may be effective in treating GERD. However, XenoPort believes that baclofen's inherent problems with absorption and untoward side effects due to current high dosage requirements will limit its widespread use as a treatment for GERD.

XenoPort has created and is developing XP19986 to overcome the deficiencies of baclofen and provide a potentially powerful treatment for GERD. A form of baclofen anchors the foundation of XP19986, but, importantly, we have designed XP19986 in a way that causes the body to think it is a nutrient. This novel approach allows the body to readily absorb XP19986, and then convert it back to a form of baclofen in the blood stream.

Baclofen exerts its effects on the function of the lower esophageal sphincter that controls the passage of material between the esophagus and the stomach. By reducing the frequency of transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations, treatment with XP19986 may reduce the passage of gastric contents into the esophagus. If successful, XP19986 could provide a novel treatment of GERD.

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