Institutional investors are not in the market for now, but a survey of 104 firms on both sides of the Atlantic shows all but 6% have an interest in psychedelic medicines. However, only 23% say they are “very likely” to invest in the sector in the future, whilst the majority are sitting on the fence.
The British Museum in London, steeped in history and tradition, sits alongside world class biomedical and clinical research centers, where numerous technological advances and scientific breakthroughs have originated. “This unique combination of tradition and innovation […] also defines our industry today,” said Rivki Stern, co-founder and CEO of Shortwave Pharma Inc., which is working to develop psychedelic drugs as approved medicines that meet unmet medical needs of patients with treatment-resistant depression, addictions and eating disorders.
At the 2023 Annual Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, Mary Reilly described the relationship between bench and bedside as “a continuous circle of translation,” with each cycle beginning with patients and their needs.
Sinotau Pharmaceutical Group raised ¥1.1 billion (US$152 million) in a financing round to develop its radiopharmaceutical drugs for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to entice. On the exhibition floor at the 2023 Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, one company’s booth featured “Mindart” technology. A passersby could answer a short series of prompts, and get a unique image based on the input made by generative AI. Entertainment aside, medically speaking, AI applications “are still research,” Riccardo Soffietti told his audience at one of several sessions devoted to AI. “But obviously, research is the future.”
Although the highest dose of Bioxcel Therapeutics Inc.’s BXCL-501 hit the primary endpoint in the phase III Tranquility II trial for acute agitation in Alzheimer’s disease patients, shares fell dramatically on June 29 by 64% when investors learned the company received an FDA warning letter over infractions at a trial site.
With the latest data from the phase II Sequel study, Cognition Therapeutics Inc. added new physiological evidence for the neuroprotective effect of CT-1812 in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) bolstering earlier results related to target engagement and the compound’s impact on cognitive changes. But the results failed to hit statistical significance, and shares of New York-based Cognition (NASDAQ:CGTX) closed June 28 at $2.18, down 32 cents, almost 13%.
Enveric Biosciences Inc. is gearing up to begin clinical trials in generalized anxiety disorder with lead candidate, EB-373, a psilocin prodrug. Trials are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Eisai Co. Ltd. and Biogen Inc.’s Leqembi (lecanemab) gained the support of the U.S. FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee (adcom) in a 6-0 vote on June 9, as panel members unanimously agreed that the results of the phase III Clarity trial verified the clinical benefit in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA does not have to follow the adcom’s recommendation, but it often does. The PDUFA date for the supplemental NDA is July 6.
Standing as one of the more prominent among incurable conditions, Parkinson’s disease (PD) still hasn’t met a medicine or surgical intervention that can slow or stop progression, despite efforts of many drug developers testing new strategies.
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