Ulotaront (SEP-363856) is a Phase III candidate with FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of schizophrenia with demonstrated efficacy based on a physician-rated scale (PANSS) in a 4-week placebo-controlled trial and continued improvement in an open-label extension study. Reviewer Jake Schwarz says, “ulotaront was developed [...]

The Takeda GPR139 agonist, TAK-041 , is a CNS-penetrant GPCR agonist being explored for schizophrenia symptoms and is an interesting example of a triazinone-containing clinical candidate. GPR139 is an orphan GPCR that’s highly expressed in the human habenula, which plays a major role in avoidance behavior. Lesions in the habenula cause [...]

Compound 8 is a dual 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor inverse agonist developed to address the limitations of pimavanserin.

Vertex’s VX-548 is a potential first-in-class, exquisitely selective, oral NaV1.8 inhibitor that recently captured headlines for its positive Ph. III data. With the ongoing opioid epidemic throughout the US, there is an urgent unmet medical need for non-addictive pain medications as alternatives to opioids. They plan to file an NDA by mid-2024 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain. This case study highlights what’s publicly known about Vertex’s journey in pain leading up to the Ph. III readout for VX-548, and why this is such a watershed moment for pain management.

Cerevance’s CVN293 is an oral, CNS-penetrant, selective inhibitor of potassium efflux-mediated NLRP3-inflammasome activation in microglia for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Cerevance’s NETSseq platform was used to discover a microglia-specific potassium efflux channel, KCNK13, which allows modulation of the NLRP3-inflammasome in the CNS without affecting peripheral innate immunity. Read the full article to discover highlights on the CNS-penetration of highly polar compounds and how particle size can be key to oral bioavailability