Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. announced plans to acquire Mindset Pharma Inc. for C$80 million (US$50.76 million) in an all-cash deal that will see Otsuka strengthen its neurology and psychiatric pipeline. Mindset, of Toronto, is developing next-generation psychedelic therapeutics to treat psychiatric and neurological disorders with high unmet needs.
Amber Therapeutics Ltd. has acquired Bioinduction Ltd. as well as its neuromodulation therapy platform, Picostim Dyneumo. Amber is currently using the platform, an implantable system to deliver its closed-loop therapy for mixed urinary incontinence, Amber-UI, in a first-in-human study. With early indications confirming the safety and feasibility of the surgical procedure and adaptive therapy, it made sense to acquire the hardware which allows for the therapy to work, CEO Aidan Crawley, CEO and co-founder of Amber told BioWorld.
Uniqure NV has received FDA clearance of its IND application for AMT-260, the company’s gene therapy candidate that represents a potential one-time administered approach to treating refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).
Researchers from Ashvattha Therapeutics LLC recently reported on ASH-41020, a new dendranib compound acting as a CSF-1R inhibitor with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.
Monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), a member of the serine hydrolase family expressed in the brain and peripheral tissue, is a key enzyme in the hydrolysis of monoglycerides, converting 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) into arachidonic acid and glycerol. MAGL inhibition has been previously shown to induce anxiolytic and analgesic phenotypes in animal models. Researchers from Janssen Pharmaceutica NV recently reported the discovery of novel noncovalent MAGL inhibitors.
A Spanish study led by scientists from the Cajal Institute and the National Center of Oncological Research (CNIO) combined the power of artificial neural networks and biological neuronal circuits to identify abnormal brain activity produced by secondary metastases in the CNS and classify these tumors. The work, published online on Aug. 30, 2023, in Cancer Cell, showed how damage in the brain did not depend on the tumor size but on the effect it produced on neuronal circuits, interrupting cell communication.
Sage Therapeutics Inc. is reducing its workforce by 40% and pausing its earlier-stage programs, just a few weeks after receiving mixed news of both a U.S. FDA approval and a complete response letter for its depression drug Zurzuvae (zuranolone). The move offers the Cambridge, Mass.-based company an annualized net savings of approximately $240 million, 60% of which is related to R&D, and will extend its runway into 2026.
Neuraxis Inc. has initiated a clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of its IB-Stim neuromodulation system in treating children with post-concussion syndrome (PCS). The aim is to see whether IB-Stim can ease the constellation of symptoms that occur after mild traumatic brain injury such as headaches, dizziness and problems with concentration and memory.
A DE Shaw Research LLC patent reports N3-substituted uracil compounds acting as transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily A member 1 (TRPA1) antagonists. As such, they are reported to be useful for the treatment of pain, fibrosis, autoimmune disease, neurological, dermatological, cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders, among others.
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