Newco Elkedonia SAS has raised €11 million (US$12.7 million) in a seed round, which will fund it to take a potentially first-in-class ELK-1 inhibitor into the clinic in the treatment of refractory depression. ELK-1 plays a pivotal role in neuroplasticity and in reward circuits in the brain, which when disrupted can lead to depression, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Maplight Therapeutics Inc. has disclosed G protein-coupled receptor GPR52 modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Capsida Biotherapeutics Inc. has obtained IND clearance from the FDA for CAP-003, an intravenously administered gene therapy, for Parkinson’s disease associated with GBA mutations (PD-GBA). A phase I/II trial will begin dosing in the third quarter of this year.
Epilepsy affects more than 70 million worldwide and while several drugs have proven effective for controlling seizures, around 30% of patients do not respond to them and their side effects can be intolerable.
4M Therapeutics Inc. has released promising results from completed GLP safety studies for its lead asset, 4MT-2001, supporting its potential to offer a safer treatment option to patients who are underserved by lithium and atypical antipsychotics.
Mosanna Therapeutics secured $80 million in a series A round to develop MOS-118 as a treatment for the nearly 1 billion people globally with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The company has completed the formulation work to make the drug into a nasal spray and the initial proof-of-concept animal studies and is now ready to enter clinical trials in patients with OSA.
Work at Sensorium Therapeutics Inc. has led to the identification of new serotonin transporter (SERT) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of depression, anxiety and stress disorders.
Rgenta Therapeutics Inc. has synthesized new 2,3-dihydropyrollopyridine carboxamide compounds acting as PMS1 protein homolog 1 splicing modulators. They are reported to be useful for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Friedreich ataxia, myotonic dystrophy, fragile X syndrome, frontotemporal dementia, Fuchs dystrophy, Huntington’s disease and spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, among others.
N4-Acetylation of cytidine (ac4C) is an mRNA modification that enhances cellular mRNA stability and translation. Most eukaryotic organisms catalyze ac4C using a homologue of human N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10). Recent work has suggested the involvement of alterations in NAT10-mediated ac4C in several diseases, including autoimmune disorders, infections, inflammation and cancer.
London-based Livanova plc. has petitioned the U.S. CMS to cover vagus nerve stimulation device for treatment-resistant depression without the need for a clinical trial — a change that would eliminate the costly and cumbersome coverage with evidence development mechanism.