After Recognify Life Sciences Inc.’s phase IIb failure in treating the cognitive impairment in those with schizophrenia, the indication is no closer to a U.S. FDA approved therapy. The placebo-controlled study of inidascamine missed its primary endpoint to improve cognition, joining a list of companies that have tried and failed to find a successful treatment.
Current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease have limited effects. While they can slow cognitive decline or alleviate symptoms, they do not reverse this complex neurodegenerative condition caused by multiple factors. Researchers from the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have screened FDA-approved drugs in search of agents that could potentially modify the disease.
Neurogene Inc.’s disclosure June 30 of its registrational trial design in Rett syndrome (RS) added spice to the space, where Taysha Gene Therapies Inc. is another closely watched player. The New York-based firm said Embolden will test NGN-401, a gene therapy for the treatment of females age 3 and older with RS. U.S. regulators have signed off regarding key aspects of Embolden’s structure.
Apnimed Inc.’s lead oral therapy for obstructive sleep apnea has delivered a second round of positive phase III data, bringing a potential U.S. FDA filing closer. Top-line results taken from the second pivotal late-stage study show AD-109 (aroxybutynin 2.5mg/atomoxetine 75 mg) hit its primary endpoint with clinically meaningful and statistically significant drops in airway obstruction at 26 weeks.
After two decades of research elucidating the basic science, Tafalgie Therapeutics SA has delivered the first clinical data for its non-opioid analgesic.
In a 10-1 vote, the U.S. FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee said Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s studies of its combination post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment did not show enough efficacy. Had the adcom felt otherwise, the path may have been smoother for a new treatment in an indication that hasn’t seen regulatory advancement in decades. The committee’s conclusion, however, is not binding on the FDA, which will make its own decision whether to approve.
The U.S. FDA is insisting that another study is needed to bolster the sNDA for Rexulti (brexpiprazole) from Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in treating adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The agency’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee and the company, one of Japan’s biggest pharmas, will discuss this during July 18’s adcom hearing regarding the efficacy of Rexulti in combination with sertraline.
Under a new licensing deal announced July 8, JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. granted Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. rights to its adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids for use in up to five of Alexion’s genomic medicines programs.
Illimis Therapeutics Inc. raised ₩58 billion (US$42 million) in a series B financing round. The funds will support development of ILM-01, its lead bispecific fusion protein candidate, into preclinical development for Alzheimer’s disease by the second half of 2025, along with the company’s neuroimmunology portfolio.
The switch will be flicked today to make the world’s largest dementia-related proteomics dataset freely available to researchers, at the same time as members of the consortium which compiled it publish the proteomics signatures of major neurodegenerative diseases that they uncovered in a first trawl of the data.