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.
Eli Lilly and Co. plans to buy Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc for $6.3 billion in up-front cash and another potential $1.5 billion through contingent value rights, gaining access to a pipeline of orexin receptor 2 agonists for sleep disorders. The Indianapolis-based pharma is re-entering a field that has multibillion-dollar potential and one that could emulate the success seen with its obesity program. Centessa, of Boston and London, has a lead candidate, cleminorexton (formerly ORX-750), with positive phase IIa data in narcolepsy types 1 and 2 and idiopathic hypersomnia.
Myrobalan Therapeutics Nanjing Co. Ltd. has divulged uracil nucleotide/cysteinyl leukotriene receptor (GPR17; P2Y-like) antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers from Suven Life Sciences Ltd. have presented results on the evaluation of the pharmacological properties of SUVN-I6107 in various animal models of cognitive deficits at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2025.
Anew Medical Inc. has announced plans to advance its Klotho gene therapy program for neurodegenerative disorders. Initial data suggest that maintaining elevated levels of Klotho in the body significantly contributes to longer, healthier life spans, while individuals with depleted or lower than normal levels of Klotho are more susceptible to neurodegenerative disorders.
Vandria SA has announced a series A financing round raising $20.6 million (CHF18 million) to help advance its pipeline of first-in-class small-molecule mitophagy inducers.
Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord has restored the ability to walk normally to a patient whose chronic Parkinson’s disease (PD) had led to severe motor deficits, researchers reported in the Nov. 6, 2023, online issue of Nature Medicine.
Researchers at Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and Sunnybrook Research Institute have described isoquinoline derivatives acting as apoptosis regulator BAX and/or BAK inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
Raya Therapeutic Inc. has entered into an early-stage R&D collaboration with Argenx SE to evaluate combinations of Raya’s pipeline of targeted small molecules with a potentially complementary product from Argenx.
