Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder marked by positive, negative and cognitive symptoms, many of which are poorly addressed by current dopamine-blocking antipsychotics. Preclinical studies show that muscarinic acetylcholine M4 receptor positive allosteric modulators (M4 PAMs) can reduce hyperdopaminergic activity and improve both positive and negative symptom-related behaviors, suggesting they may offer enhanced antipsychotic efficacy with improved tolerability.
Aperture Therapeutics Inc. has nominated APRTX-001 as a development candidate, with the program now advancing through IND-enabling studies. APRTX-001 is a CD33-targeting antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) designed for the treatment of frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with potential for indication expansion into Alzheimer’s disease.
Could GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), already used in obesity and diabetes, be repurposed as drugs to slow aging? Hong Kong, one of the places in the world with the highest human longevity, is also home to a scientific study on the effects of GLP-1RAs. For the first time, scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have assessed their pharmacological potential in later life using a multiomics preclinical approach.
Yichang Humanwell Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has disclosed morphinan derivatives acting as κ-opioid receptor agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of pain and pruritus.
At the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego this week, Catherine Woolley’s plenary lecture was an unusual combination of debunking and affirming the importance of sex differences in the brain.
Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has identified aryl sulfone and sulfanone derivatives acting as orexin OX2 receptor (HCRTR2) agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of eating disorders, fatigue, Kleine-Levin syndrome, narcolepsy, obesity, pain, and psychiatric and inflammatory disorders, among others.
Pretzel Therapeutics Inc. has described DNA polymerase subunit γ-1 (POLG) modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of neurodegeneration and mitochondrial diseases.
Akeso Inc. has received clearance from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to initiate clinical trials with AK-152 for Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers from the Chinese Institute for Brain Research, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and their collaborators have identified adenosine as the driving force behind the rapid, fast-acting antidepressant effects of ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). “Our journey into this area of research began over a decade ago, around 2013, when the clinical world was buzzing with excitement about ketamine's remarkably rapid antidepressant effects,” Minmin Luo, co-senior author of the study, told BioWorld.
Shanghai Innoxtal Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has disclosed sodium channel protein type 10 subunit α (SCN10A; Nav1.8) blockers reported to be useful for the treatment of pain, arrhythmia and urinary incontinence.
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