ACADIA Nominates 5-HT2A Inverse Agonist for Clinical Development in Psychosis; Chemical-Genomics Platform Advances Third Program to IND-Track
2001-10-30 06:01 (New York)
SAN DIEGO and COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- ACADIA
Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has nominated a potent and
highly-selective 5-HT2A inverse agonist for clinical development as a novel
treatment for psychosis. The company's clinical candidate, ACP-103,
demonstrated a preclinical profile similar to that of the leading atypical
antipsychotic drugs, but without the adverse effects commonly associated with
this class of agents, such as obesity, movement disorders and cognitive
impairment. ACADIA has initiated development of ACP-103 and intends to
complete toxicology and other testing necessary for submission of an
Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA.
"ACP-103 represents a new and exciting class of antipsychotic drugs that
may expand the treatment options for patients in this large area of unmet
medical need," said Arvid Carlsson, M.D., Ph.D., last year's recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Medicine and a founding member of ACADIA's clinical advisory
board. "This drug candidate displays a compelling preclinical profile and the
company's unique approach has provided a strong validation of the therapeutic
concept."
ACADIA's 5-HT2A program originated from the discovery by ACADIA scientists
that most antipsychotic drugs interact with 5-HT2A receptors as inverse
agonists, and that potency as an inverse agonist at this receptor subtype
differentiates the more modern atypical antipsychotics from typical
antipsychotic drugs. Using its chemical-genomics platform, ACADIA discovered
and optimized several series of chemically-novel 5-HT2A inverse agonists.
These chemical series consist of small drug-like molecules with high
specificity, high efficacy and subnanomolar potency for the 5-HT2A receptor.
ACADIA's clinical candidate, ACP-103, possesses excellent oral
bioavailability, was highly efficacious in pivotal animal models of psychosis,
and is devoid of activity in relevant side-effect models, suggesting the
potential for a superior therapeutic profile relative to existing
antipsychotic therapies.
ACP-103 was discovered using ACADIA's massively-parallel,
chemical-genomics platform. The entire process from target identification
through discovery of the clinical candidate ACP-103 has taken less than two
years, a dramatic shortening of the typical drug discovery cycle. ACADIA's
platform integrates genomics, chemistry and biology to rapidly identify and
validate drug targets and discover novel chemistries specific to those
targets. When paired with ACADIA's comprehensive drug discovery capabilities,
including combinatorial/medicinal chemistry and pharmacology, the company's
chemical-genomics platform enables the rapid discovery of highly-selective and
efficacious drug candidates.
"The nomination of ACP-103 for clinical development is an important
milestone for ACADIA and a clear illustration of the unique productivity of
our chemical-genomics platform," said Uli Hacksell, Ph.D., ACADIA's Chief
Executive Officer. "We have successfully applied our platform to generate a
broad and expanding drug pipeline, that has already led to three development
candidates in the important disease areas of psychosis, chronic pain and
glaucoma. We expect our chemical-genomics platform to continue to deliver a
sustainable flow of clinical candidates that address large unmet medical needs
and major commercial markets."
Psychosis is a term used to characterize many illnesses defined by
disturbances in thinking, emotional reaction and behavior and represents a
rapidly expanding worldwide market of $5 billion. These illnesses are
severely debilitating, and often require patients to be under medical care for
their entire lives. Traditional antipsychotic medications fail to treat both
cognitive and emotional symptoms and are associated with severe dose-limiting
side effects.
ACADIA is a drug discovery and development company that efficiently
identifies target-specific small molecule drug candidates using its
proprietary chemical-genomics platform. ACADIA's uniquely productive platform
integrates genomics, chemistry and biology to rapidly identify and validate
drug targets and discover novel chemistries specific to those targets. ACADIA
has successfully applied its chemical-genomics platform to generate a broad
discovery pipeline that includes 16 programs directed at major diseases,
including psychosis, chronic pain, glaucoma and dementia. ACADIA's corporate
headquarters as well as its genomics and biological research facilities are
located in San Diego, California and its chemistry research facilities are
located in Copenhagen, Denmark.
For further information, please contact: Uli Hacksell, Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer, or Robert E. Davis, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Drug
Discovery and Development, both of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, +1-858-558-2871. |
