Precision psychiatry got some love at two quite different meetings this week, the European Congress of Neuropsychopharmacology’s New Frontiers meeting and BioEurope Spring. The New Frontiers Meeting, an annual two-day meeting dedicated to cutting-edge issues in brain disease research, focused on big-picture and scientific – at times almost philosophical – questions of how to get to a classification scheme for brain disorders that aligns with the underlying biology.
Jaguar Gene Therapy LLC’s IND application for JAG-201, a gene therapy for a genetic form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS; 22q13.3 deletion syndrome), has been cleared by the FDA.
Stalicla SA announced the first close of a series B round at $17.4 million, which provides the means to complete preparations for both a phase III trial of the lead program, STP-7, in the treatment of cocaine misuse disorder, and of a phase II trial of STP-1 in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Iama Therapeutics Srl has obtained clinical trial application (CTA) clearance from the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) to initiate a first-in-human phase I study of IAMA-6, an orally administered small-molecule therapeutic targeting NKCC1 for the treatment of autism and epilepsy.
A mouse line with severe haploinsufficiency of about 92% reduction in coiled-coil and C2 domain-containing protein 1A (CC2D1A) expression was generated by breeding of Cc2d1a-knockout allele with C2d1a -/V5-HA mice to generate a compound heterozygous murine model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Paxmedica Inc.’s shares (NASDAQ:PXMD) surged by 179% in early trading Nov. 7 after reporting the publication of phase II autism spectrum disorder results for PAX-101 (suramin) intravenous infusions. Suramin, an anti-trypanosomal and anti-purinergic agent introduced in 1923 for East African sleeping sickness, showed a statistically significant improvement at the 10-mg/kg dose in a secondary endpoint of Clinical Global Impressions – Improvement scale vs. placebo.
Beyond Air Inc. has entered into an agreement with Yissum Research Development Co. of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to license the commercial rights for multiple neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) inhibitor candidates, currently being developed for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurological conditions.
Implanting brain organoids into the brains of mice may allow the more realistic study of microglial cells during both healthy and disease states. This is what researchers from the Salk Institute and their collaborators found in a study published on May 11, 2023, in Cell.
Medicinal cannabis company Zelira Therapeutics Ltd. secured $8.6 million in cornerstone funding from U.S.-based Cantheon Capital LLC that will progress Zelira’s Hope1 cannabinoid medicine to formal phase II/III clinical trials for behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorder.
