Newco Sononeu Inc. has launched to translate more than a decade of basic research in controlling cells with ultrasound into novel, non-invasive therapies for conditions including peripheral and diabetic neuropathy.

Kinase inhibitors have shown success in disease areas such as oncology, but their application in neurodegenerative diseases is still limited. This is mainly due to several challenges, such as the complexity of kinase networks, limited blood-brain barrier permeability and the lack of biomarkers.

Hopes in postpartum depression (PPD) with an oral version of brexanolone – a synthetic formulation of the endogenous neurosteroid allopregnanolone, approved by the U.S. FDA in 2019 when given intravenously for PPD – were dashed, at least near term, when Lipocine Inc. reported that the candidate failed in a phase III placebo-controlled trial.

Just over a month after emerging from stealth and disclosing a $150 million series A, Korsana Biosciences Inc. is making the leap to the public market via a merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics Inc.  The agreement, which is backed by a $370 million private placement from Korsana’s investors, solidly positions the newly merged company as it heads toward the clinic with KRSA-028, a next-generation shuttled antibody targeting amyloid beta for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and builds out a pipeline of neurodegenerative disease candidates.

Just over a month after emerging from stealth and disclosing a $150 million series A, Korsana Biosciences Inc. is making the leap to the public market via a merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics Inc.  The agreement, which is backed by a $370 million private placement from Korsana’s investors, solidly positions the newly merged company as it heads toward the clinic with KRSA-028, a next-generation shuttled antibody targeting amyloid beta for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and builds out a pipeline of neurodegenerative disease candidates.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is taking a neuroplastogen approach to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through its planned $1.22 billion acquisition of Transcend Therapeutics Inc. The deal gives Tokyo-headquartered Otsuka access to Transcend’s lead asset, TSND-201, an oral neuroplastogen that has begun patient recruitment for a phase III study in the U.S.