Baltimore biopharmaceutical startup Gliknik said human trials began for a candidate drug it’s developing to treat a rare neurological disorder.

With the beginning of the Phase I clinical trial, the University of Maryland BioPark-based company received a $15 million payment from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The payment is tied to a licensing deal between the company and Pfizer, which was initially inked in 2013.

Gliknik is developing a treatment for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), which the company said is not derived from blood. It’s designed to meet the effectiveness of a blood product called Intravenous Immune Globulin, which is used to treat autoimmune diseases. Previously, the candidate received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2015.

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