Our History

The company was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary to Umecrine AB, in order to focus the development activities on finding treatments for neurological disorders in the central nervous system that are caused by endogenous CNS-active steroids (GABA-steroids).

 

Umecrine AB was founded in 2000 and is based on research performed at Umeå Neurosteroid Research Center, Umeå University, Sweden, showing that the negative effects of endogenous sex and stress hormones on the brain are possible to prevent. The negative effects are related to the influence of GABA steroids on the brain's main inhibiting system, the GABA system. The effect of Umecrine's patented and patent pending substances is to block the influence of GABA steroids on the GABAA receptor and thus preventing the GABA steroids from inducing negative CNS symptoms and disorders. The inventions represent unique and novel treatment principles with potential in several indication areas e.g. in the present case premenstrual disorders.

 

The CEO and principle founder of Umecrine AB is Torbjörn Bäckström. He is MD, PhD, is currently professor at the Department of Clinical Science, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Umeå University. He is also head of the Umeå Neurosteroid Research Center. Professor Bäckström's main focus of research since 1972 is the effect of sex and stress hormones on the brain and conditions induced by these hormones, he has more than 400 scientific publications within this area and he is a frequently invited key-note speaker at scientific meetings around the world. In 1989 professor Bäckström served several years in the scientific board of a start up pharmaceutical company, CoCensys Inc., Irvine CA, USA, based on his own research and the research of professor Kelvin Gee, University of California. Several active compounds were developed and one of those is currently in phase III of clinical assessment. CoCensys, was listed on the NASDAQ stock market until 1994, when it was sold to a larger pharmaceutical company.

 

Umecrine Cognition is a lean organization in a competent network. Together with Karolinska Development, the company was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary to Umecrine AB, in order to focus the development activities on finding treatments for neurological disorders in the central nervous system that are caused by endogenous CNS-active steroids (GABA-steroids).

 

The GABA-system is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter system within the central nervous system and an excessive GABAergic tone has been described in several important clinical conditions such as Hepatic Encephalopathy, Alzheimer’s disease, and Down syndrome. Certain endogenous GABA-steroids act as strong agonists at the GABAA receptor and alterations in the production and metabolism of these GABA-steroids has been described in Hepatic Encephalopathy, Alzheimer’s disease, and Down syndrome. 

 

The company is focusing its efforts on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat Hepatic Encephalopathy in patients with liver disease.