Alkira Bio, a new spinout from Australia’s Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health has emerged from stealth mode thanks to seed funding from Curie.bio. Although the amount of funding is not disclosed, Curie.bio typically invests $5 million to $10 million in a founder company and then co-pilots the drug discovery program, deploying drug development experts to its portfolio companies to help navigate decision making as part of the deal, Florey researcher turned Alkira Bio CEO Daniel Scott told BioWorld.

In just the second PCT filing published in the name of Newmanbrain SL, co-founders Carlos Belmonte and Joaquin Ibañez seek specific protection for the use of Newmanbrain’s functional near infrared spectroscopy system, Theia, in the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

A phase II failure with SAGE-324 in essential tremor (ET) had Wall Street speculating about the fate of Sage Therapeutics Inc.’s partnership with Biogen Inc. Shares of Cambridge, Mass.-based Sage (NASDAQ:SAGE) ended July 24 at $10.38, down $2.70, or 20.6%, after the firm disclosed top-line results from the phase II Kinetic 2 dose-ranging study of oral SAGE-324 (also known as BIIB-124) for ET. The trial did not show a statistically significant dose-response relationship based on the primary endpoint, the Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS) Performance Subscale Item 4 (upper limb) total score.

After reaching a height in 2021, seed and series A rounds have fallen in recent years, and 2024 is no exception, although amounts raised are tracking slightly ahead of last year. On July 23, the numbers were given a boost when two new companies – namely Dover, Del.-based Brenig Therapeutics Inc. and Boston-based Third Arc Bio Inc. – raised $65 million and $165 million, respectively, in series A financings. A third new company, Abiologics Inc., also received $50 million in initial funding.

Mira Pharmaceuticals Inc. has released new preclinical study results for its oral ketamine analogue, Ketamir-2, which is under investigation for potential to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Researchers from Shanxi Medical University presented data from a study that aimed to assess the effects of delayed treatment with G protein-coupled receptor 65 (GPR65) agonist BTB-09089 on neurorestoration following ischemic stroke in mice.

Epigenetic silencing could prevent the production of proteins that cause pathologies. CHARM (coupled histone tail for autoinhibition release of methyltransferase), a DNA methylation-based editor, suppressed transcription of prion proteins in the brains of mice.

Many people living with HIV develop mild cognitive impairment and mood problems known as HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). The activation of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor may be a feasible strategy to treat this disorder, but associated psychoactive side effects restrict their potential.