With close ties to University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Eldec is structured around development of a peptidomimetic that inhibits the plasma membrane Ca2+ channel Orai1 -- the key plasma membrane Ca2+ channel present in pulmonary epithelial, immune and airway smooth muscle cells and regulates inflammation and airway smooth muscle contraction. Anchored in work undertaken by one of the Founders and other UNC colleagues, Eldec Pharmaceuticals is developing therapeutics designed to meet the urgent need for an effective anti-inflammatory therapeutic to treat chronic lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Chronic bacterial infection and inflammation in CF lungs leads to persistent neutrophilia and bronchiectasis. Lung disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in CF patients. The treatment plan is based in the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, but no effective anti-inflammatory drugs are currently available to treat CF patients.
