Despite the formidable challenges for developing precision psychiatry, the approach is notching its first successes in the preclinical and even some clinical settings. Many individual studies as well as large projects like the Psychiatric Ratings using Intermediate Markers (PRISM) studies and the Psychiatric Biomarkers Network (PBN) have been looking at multiple biomarker types, and have begun to identify predictors of specific symptoms, or disease progression.
Scientists at Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Shanghai Senhui Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Shengdi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. have described benzene ring derivatives acting as GABA-A receptor agonists reported to be useful for anesthesia and for the treatment of anxiety disorders, insomnia, depression, nausea and vomiting, migraine, convulsions, schizophrenia and epilepsy.
Brainxell Inc. has reported preclinical data demonstrating efficacy of BXT-110, an autologous induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neuronal therapy for Parkinson’s disease.
Psychiatry has struggled to enter the precision medicine era. But through a mix of innovations and bootstrapping, progress is coming to the field. Scientists are working on improving diagnoses by investigating potential biomarkers and collection methods.
Manifold Biotechnologies Inc. has signed a strategic research collaboration and license agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. to develop next-generation brain shuttles for neurological diseases. The collaboration will apply Manifold’s proprietary tissue-targeting shuttle portfolio and mDesign AI-driven in vivo discovery engine.
SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has identified sodium channel protein type 9 subunit α (SCN9A; Nav1.7) blockers reported to be useful for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
Two in five preclinical studies on subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) published in peer-reviewed scientific journals contain problematic images. A team of researchers from Radboud University Medical Center, who had previously identified several such cases, analyzed the literature in this field to assess the scope of the issue. They found that 40% of the studies included suspicious images.
Genescience Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has disclosed tachykinin NK3 receptor (TACR3) antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cancer, convulsions, depression and more.