Cyrano Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company pioneering the development of treatments for smell loss, announced today that on February 14, 2025 it entered into an option agreement with KYORIN Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for CYR-064, a novel treatment for post-viral loss of smell (hyposmia).
Under this agreement, KYORIN obtains an option for the license of the right to develop and commercialize CYR-064 in Japan and will pay an option fee to Cyrano. Upon exercising the option and entering into a licensing agreement, KYORIN will provide Cyrano with an upfront payment, milestone payments tied to the progress of developing and commercializing CYR-064, and royalties based on a specified percentage of net sales following its launch.
CYR-064, a novel, patent-protected, intranasal formulation of a broad-spectrum phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor theophylline, is currently being administered in a Phase 2 clinical trial in the United States, with data from the trial expected in the second half of 2025. CYR-064 targets the inhibition of cAMP degradation thereby increasing intracellular concentrations and increasing olfactory neuron excitability, leading to a potential therapeutic effect in the treatment of post-viral hyposmia and potentially other olfactory disorders.
Post-viral hyposmia is defined as a persistent olfactory dysfunction after an upper respiratory tract infection, even after the upper respiratory inflammation has subsided. A virus is the most common cause of olfactory dysfunction, followed by chronic rhinosinusitis, Parkinson’s disease and head trauma. With the loss of smell, patients also lose up to 80% of their perception of taste. Forty percent of patients with olfactory dysfunction also experience more than two safety events and 43% experience depression, significantly reducing a patient’s quality of life. At present, there are no medications with clear evidence of effectiveness in treating post-viral hyposmia.
