Eli Lilly and Co.’s buyout of Ventyx Biosciences Inc. for $1.2 billion at the start of the year brought to the forefront NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inhibitors, on which a handful of developers have been working – and research in the space continues to roll out, as with the paper published March 26 in Nature that delved into mechanisms that rev up the NLRP3 inflammasome.
Neumora Therapeutics Inc. has reported preclinical data for NMRA-215, a brain-penetrant, oral NLRP3 inhibitor in development for obesity, suggesting potential utility as a monotherapy as well as in combination with a GLP-1 agonist.
The BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index showed signs of recovery in August, narrowing its year-to-date decline to 14.31%, compared to a steeper drop of 22.34% at the end of May. Momentum shifted notably over the summer, with 17 of the 20 component companies posting gains between June and August. This marks a reversal from May, when 15 of the 20 stocks were in the red.
The BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index continued its downward slide into 2025, with 15 of the 20 component stocks posting losses. After dipping into negative territory in late February, the index dropped 15.99% by the end of March and closed May down 22.34%.
Neumora Therapeutics Inc. has patented NMDA receptor positive allosteric modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of autoimmune disease, infections, neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) notched another late-stage failure in the form of Neumora Therapeutics Inc.’s data from the phase III Koastal-1 study, the first of three replicant trials in the pivotal program testing kappa opioid receptor antagonist navacaprant.
A schizophrenia drug in Cerevel Therapeutics Inc.’s lineup understandably stole much of the thunder during coverage of Abbvie Inc.’s takeover late last year to the tune of $8.7 billion, but much further back in the pipeline awaits another potentially lucrative prospect: a kappa opioid receptor antagonist (KORA) for major depressive disorder (MDD).
In the first five months of 2024, the BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index (BNDI) saw a 10.35% decline, underperforming both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI), which rose by 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which increased by 2.64%. This represents an additional drop for BNDI, which closed February with a 4.1% decline. In contrast, in 2023, the BNDI closed with a 4.36% increase, outperforming the NBI, which rose by 3.74%, but not matching the 13.7% rise seen in the DJIA.
Work at Neumora Therapeutics Inc. has led to the identification of new casein kinase I isoform δ (CKI-δ) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of neurological disorders.
Preclinical data of rabbits having convulsions has prompted the U.S. FDA to place a clinical hold on Neumora Therapeutics Inc.’s phase I study of NMRA-266 in healthy adults. Neumora said about 30 participants had been dosed so far in the single ascending and multiple ascending dose study, with no evidence of convulsions seen.
