Attacking attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from two different angles, thanks to a new asset just brought aboard, should help Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. protect its revenue stream in the pesky and widespread condition. Stoughton, Mass.-based Collegium disclosed its pact March 19 with Corium Therapeutics Holdings LLC for the former to buy the latter’s Azstarys (serdexmethylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate).

A new way of understanding Alzheimer’s disease, based on biological inflection points that mark decisive moments in the progression of the disorder, could change how new drugs are developed to achieve more effective therapies. This new perspective could rethink strategies that depend not so much on the target itself, but on the precise moment at which it is addressed.

In a sea of uncertainty, a large-scale, long-term Swedish study is the first to show that people using GLP-1 receptor agonists are less likely to have worsening mental illness. The study involved a national cohort of 95,490 people diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorder, who also were treated with any diabetes drug (apart from insulin).

Imperative Care Inc. secured $100 million through an oversubscribed convertible note financing round to support commercialization of its stroke and vascular thrombectomy technologies. The round was co-led by new investors Elevage Medical Technologies and Perceptive Advisors alongside existing investor Catalio Capital Management LP. Also participating were new backers Longaeva Partners LP and Brown Advisory, with continued support from existing investors, including Ally Bridge Group and Bain Capital Life Sciences.

Neurodegenerative disease and cognitive decline cannot be explained by a single process. Beta-amyloid plaques, hyperphosphorylated tau, alpha-synuclein, activated microglia and astrocytes, altered receptors such as TREM2, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic changes and cerebrovascular alterations all seem to contribute to the development of dementia in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). While scientists attempt to address each of these elements, prevention is growing as a primary goal.

Australia has released the first clinical practice guideline for the appropriate use of methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, but clinicians caution that evidence, infrastructure and access remain works in progress.

Roche Holding AG received CE Mark approval for its Elecsys Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) biomarker test, an in vitro diagnostic immunoassay to identify the ApoE4 gene variant from a blood sample. With APOE4 considered as the strongest genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease, the test provides a fast, reliable way to determine whether an individual carries the genetic variant without the need for DNA‑based genotyping.

G2Gbio Inc. secured a ₩20 billion (US$13.35 million) investment from Samsung Epis Holdings Co. Ltd. and a joint research and license agreement for two assets, including a long-acting obesity treatment, with subsidiary Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd. March 16.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. reaped positive results from an open-label phase II study of repinatrabit (JNT-517) in adolescents with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare disease marked by the inability to break down the amino acid phenylalanine.

There is broad agreement that psychiatric diagnoses in their current form are not reflective of any underlying biology, and that this is one of the things hampering psychiatric drug development. “We are still fully reliant on descriptive diagnoses that yield heterogeneous patient cohorts,” Steve Hyman told the audience at the European Congress of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Roadmap Meeting on Precision Psychiatry in Amsterdam in January.