Although several members of the U.S. FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee said they thought Lykos Therapeutics Inc.’s midomafetamine (MDMA), used in combination with psychotherapy, is a promising treatment for post-traumatic stress syndrome, they were not ready to endorse its approval.
With its hands full developing QRL-101 and QRL-201, both in clinical trials for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with plans to expand into other neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, Quralis Corp. has decided to out-license its preclinical ALS and FTD drug, QRL-204.
Unblinding, zealous therapists, severity of harms, abuse potential and actual benefit could all be part of the conversation June 4 when the U.S. FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee meets in person for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdowns to consider the use of a psychedelic drug, guided by psychotherapy, to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Scientists from the PsychENCODE Consortium have analyzed the brain transcriptome in a coordinated series of studies to map all the cell types, genes, epigenetic factors, and molecular pathways involved in different psychiatric disorders. After a first set of projects based on bulk analysis, the second phase of this project included 14 simultaneous publications that revealed the cellular atlas of post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder, among others.
Understanding psychiatric disorders at a cellular and molecular level could provide a different perspective to design diagnostic and therapeutic tools searching for the origin of these disorders and the alterations they cause. Fourteen simultaneous studies from the PsychENCODE Consortium have delved into the cellular atlases of human neurodevelopment, reporting the broadest view of neuropsychiatry to date.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s NNZ-2591 met the primary endpoints in a phase II trial in children with Pitt Hopkins syndrome, with improvements seen in communication, social interaction, cognition and motor abilities, according to top-line results.
Shanghai- and San Diego-based Degron Therapeutics Inc. secured a potential $1.2 billion deal with Tokyo-headquartered Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. May 23 for a multitarget collaboration and exclusive licensing agreement for molecular glue degraders. “It is a breakthrough technology in the small-molecule drug discovery field,” Degron CEO Lily Zou told BioWorld. “People talk about cell and gene therapy, but small molecules are still the mainstream of drug discovery, [with] more reach.”
Hørsholm, Denmark-based Contera Pharma A/S’ lead asset for levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease, JM-010, failed to meet its primary endpoint in the late-stage phase IIb Astoria trial. JM-010 is a novel drug formulation and 5-HT receptor modulator that combines existing medications of immediate-release buspirone and extended-release zolmitriptan.
Alto Neuroscience Inc.’s start this spring of the phase II double-blind, single- and multiple-dose study to test the pharmacodynamics of ALTO-203 in major depressive disorder represents another stake planted in a notoriously difficult indication. But getting attention as well is the push by Los Altos, Calif.-based Alto in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with a separate compound.
Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Inc. is getting $65 million up front in an early stage deal with Abbvie Inc. to discover neuroplastogens targeting psychiatric disorders, with the chance to receive up to $1.95 billion in options fees and milestones, plus tiered royalties in the mid-single to low-double digits from any products emerging from the collaboration.
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