Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc has obtained IND clearance from the FDA to initiate a phase I study of ORX-142 in healthy volunteers. ORX-142 is an investigational, novel, highly potent and selective OX2R agonist being developed for the treatment of select neurological and neurodegenerative disorders.

Nanjing Mingde New Drug Research Co. Ltd. has described potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily KQT member 2/3 (KCNQ2/3) activators reported to be useful for the treatment of epilepsy.

Maplight Therapeutics Inc. has disclosed G protein-coupled receptor GPR52 modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

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.

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.