# A Novel Remedy for Periodontal Bone Loss

> **NIH NIH R42** · PERIOMICS CARE, LLC · 2022 · $591,125

## Abstract

Periodontitis is a common chronic inflammatory disease characterized by destruction of the supporting
structures of the teeth (the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone). The total prevalence of periodontitis in
adults aged 30 years and older was 47.2% (representing about 64.7 million adults aged 30 years and older)
and 70.1% in adults aged 65 years and older in the U.S. The current treatment option for periodontal diseases
involves mechanical debridement – scaling and root planing which requires frequent and multiple visits to the
dentist and is sometimes followed by adjunctive therapy of local delivery of antimicrobials or systemic
antibiotics such as doxycycline. The disadvantages of current treatment options are inconvenient and painful
experience, failure of antimicrobial to penetrate beyond biofilm surface layer, risks to promote antimicrobial
resistance, and systemic side effects. Other limitation of current treatment is that none of these drugs are
targeting host and periodontal bone loss. There is a major void in periodontal disease therapeutics products
which can target host response and is easy to use.
The global periodontal disease therapeutics market is anticipated to gain a growth of 8.7% from 2016 to 2024.
At this pace, the market is estimated to reach a valuation of US$537.2M by the end of the forecast period.
Periomics Care is an early-stage New York based biotechnology company that was established to
commercialize a novel oral gel formulation for treatment of periodontal disease. In Phase I we have
synthesized, formulated, tested and patented POC7a, an antagonist formulation to target succinate receptor
(SUCNR1) as a treatment for periodontal disease. In Phase II Periomics Care proposes to scale up the
synthesis and formulation of POC7a to conduct pharmacokinetics/ pharmacodynamics, and toxicity of POC7a
in Beagle dogs (Aim1). We will further test this formulation in ligature induced Non-human Primate (NHP)
model to validate our finding that POC7a effectively rescues periodontal bone loss (Aim 2). NHP model is the
best suitable model for this study because they have a high degree of resemblance in terms of pathways of
physiological responses and targets that are relevant to human disease. More importantly NHP have oral
structures and teeth similar to those of humans and have naturally occurring dental plaque, calculus, oral
microbial pathogens and develop similar periodontal symptoms. The premise of this proposal is based on our
findings in Phase I that blocking SUCNR1 by POC7a can reduce inflammation, alter subgingival microbiome
and rescue bone loss. The technology and formulation developed in Phase I is now IP protected. The funds
gained from this STTR Phase II grant will be used for (1) synthesis and testing of the formulation, and (2)
determining the efficacy of the formulation in periodontal NHP model. The outcomes from this study will help
the company to seek FDA approval for the optimal formulation and conduct clinical ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10481946
- **Project number:** 2R42DE028212-02
- **Recipient organization:** PERIOMICS CARE, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Xin Li
- **Activity code:** R42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $591,125
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10481946

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10481946, A Novel Remedy for Periodontal Bone Loss (2R42DE028212-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10481946. Licensed CC0.

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