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Biotech / Medical : ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc (ACAD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (179)	9/22/2005 12:25:17 PM
From: keokalani'nui	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 588

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Study Identifies Molecular Properties of ACP-104 That Predict Unique Antipsychotic Activity Thursday September 22, 9:00 am ET ACP-104, Major Metabolite of Clozapine, Partially Activates Dopamine D2 and D3 Receptors SAN DIEGO, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD - News), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing innovative technology to fuel drug discovery and clinical development of novel treatments for central nervous system disorders, today announced publication of research in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (JPET) that shows that ACP-104, the major metabolite of clozapine, is a partial agonist that causes weak activation of dopamine D2 and D3 receptors, whereas clozapine and most other antipsychotic drugs block these receptors. ACADIA believes that these partial agonist properties of ACP-104 may lead to less motoric side effects than seen with most other antipsychotic drugs. ACADIA is developing ACP-104 as a novel therapy for schizophrenia, with the added potential benefit of improving cognition. "By combining D2 and D3 dopamine partial agonism, M1 muscarinic agonism, and 5-HT2A inverse agonism in a single molecule, ACP-104 uniquely addresses the three most promising target mechanisms for treating psychosis," said Mark R. Brann, Ph.D., ACADIA's President and Chief Scientific Officer. "We believe that ACP-104 represents a new and potential breakthrough approach in schizophrenia therapy." The JPET article (August 31, 2005, e-pub) describes the research conducted by ACADIA scientists of 41 marketed and experimental antipsychotic drugs and their ability to alter the activities of dopamine D2, D3, and D4 receptors. Using ACADIA's proprietary R-SAT® technology platform, the scientists developed assays that detect subtle changes in the activities of these receptors. Among the 41 drugs, only two of them, ACP-104 and aripiprazole (marketed as ABILIFY®), were partial agonists causing weak activation of dopamine D2 and D3 receptors. Most antipsychotic drugs were shown to block these dopamine receptors. Prior research has shown that blockade of the dopamine receptors may cause undesirable motoric side effects, including Parkinson-like symptoms and tardive dyskinesia. "Precisely balancing dopaminergic tone with an antipsychotic drug being a partial dopamine agonist is a very exciting concept that I have championed for many years," said Arvid Carlsson, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at the University of Goteborg, Sweden, and winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine. "I find it most intriguing that ACP-104, the major metabolite of the first atypical antipsychotic drug, clozapine, has this property." ____________________________ OK, I was wrong. Regulatory path now clearer (to me).