Advertisement Cortice acquires rights to new neurological disease therapeutic, development platform - Pharmaceutical Business review
Pharmaceutical Business review is using cookies

ContinueLearn More
Close

Cortice acquires rights to new neurological disease therapeutic, development platform

US-based drug development firm Cortice Biosciences has acquired exclusive commercial rights to a portfolio of small molecule drug candidates to treat diseases associated with cognitive impairment.

CRT 001 (xamoterol fumarate), a selective partial agonist of the beta-1 adrenergic receptor (B1-ADR), is the lead drug candidate in the portfolio acquired by the company.

B1-ADR is a key modulator of learning and memory formation in the brain and a new therapeutic target for treatment of diseases associated with cognitive impairment.

The company said that in preclinical studies, direct stimulation of B1-ADR by CRT 001 was shown to improve cognitive behaviors in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Down syndrome.

The company plans to assess CRT 001 in clinical trials to treat one or more diseases related with cognitive impairment including AD, Parkinson’s disease, Down syndrome and related neurological orphan indications.

Further plan updates will be provided by the company once guidance and feedback are received from regulatory authorities.

Additionally, the company expects to fund continuing preclinical work on other B1-ADR modulators as drug candidates for future clinical development.

Cortice chief executive officer George Farmer said recent discoveries have identified adrenergic signaling pathways as a target for treatment of diseases associated with impaired learning and memory formation.

"Hence, pharmacologic activation of B1-ADR may have utility in these treatment settings where significant medical needs exist," Farmer said.

"The previous clinical experience with CRT 001 may expedite development in these indications and may enable detection of potential signals of activity under an accelerated timeframe."