Encoded Therapeutics Inc. is advancing its lead gene therapy candidate, ETX-101, for the treatment of SCN1A+ Dravet syndrome into the clinic.

It is well known that protein tau forms aggregates in the brain in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that are also known as tauopathies. Accumulation of protein tau in the brain leads to the cell toxicity and promotes the loss of synaptic plasticity, which in turn causes memory loss. As reported on Feb. 1, 2024, in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, assistant professor Tara Tracy and her research team from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have discovered a protein in the brain that could restore this damage induced by protein tau.

A partnership between Gate Neurosciences Inc. and Beacon Biosignals Inc. promises to advance the field of precision psychiatry by using electroencephalogram (EEG) biomarkers to diagnose depression and rapidly assess response to medications. The collaboration will first use Beacon’s U.S. FDA-cleared Dreem 3S headband device and neurobiomarker platform to conduct EEGs in participants in Gate’s phase II trial of zelquistinel, a small-molecule NMDA receptor modulator under development as an antidepressant.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by nerve inflammation that affects over 2 million people globally. Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) proteins, containing BD1 and BD2 bromodomains, are among the proteins dysregulated in MS.

Researchers from Lanzhou University have described the discovery and preclinical evaluation of new multifunctional opioid agonists being developed as potential antinociceptive agents.

Although several mouse models have been developed to investigate the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD), most of them are transgenic and, therefore, present disadvantages in terms of costs and time constraints. To overcome these limitations and develop a more cost-effective and reliable animal model, a team of researchers from JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research and collaborators recently proposed a novel pharmacological AD model in zebrafish using aluminum chloride (AlCl3).

Synchron Inc. has acquired an equity stake in German manufacturer Acquandas GmbH in a move that will strengthen the company’s innovation and supply chain for its brain-computer interface system, Synchron founder and CEO Tom Oxley said.

Igc Pharma Inc. has reported additional results of preclinical studies investigating TGR-63, a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. TGR-63 is designed to disrupt the structure of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide, one of the key hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.

Cognito Therapeutics Inc. closed a $35 million extension to the series B fundraising round it started in 2023, bringing the total for the round to $108 million and the total funding to date to $128 million. Cognito is developing Spectris, a wearable medical device that provides visual and auditory stimulation for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders.