Addex and Perceptive Launch Neurosterix with $63 Million to Accelerate Development of Allosteric Modulator Therapeutics for Neurological Disorders - Seite 2

Allosteric modulators bind to their target receptor outside of the active site, where the natural ligand and traditional drugs operate. This non-competitive mode of action brings greater selectivity and more precision over the control of biological pathways, potentially delivering improved efficacy and safety. Addex pioneered the development of high-throughput industrial-scale discovery tools for allosteric modulator drug discovery, which have delivered a broad pipeline of oral small molecule drug candidates with the potential to transform the treatment of multiple neurological disorders.

“The team at Addex has established a leading position in allosteric modulator drug discovery at an industrial scale. The assets generated have all been validated at a preclinical level and are ready to quickly move through final stages of preparation for clinical evaluation,” said Fred Callori, Managing Director, Venture at Perceptive Advisors and Chairman of the Board of Neurosterix. “We recognize the untapped value, not only of the assets now being developed within Neurosterix, but also the asset generating capacity of the allosteric modulator drug discovery technology platform, which with the necessary financial resources can potentially deliver transformational medicines and secure the long-term future of the company.”

Addex’s pipeline now consists of:

• ADX71149 - a metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 2 positive allosteric modulator (mGlu2 PAM) currently in a Phase 2 clinical study for the treatment of epilepsy in collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.;
• A GABAB PAM program licensed to Indivior currently in clinical candidate selection with a focus on substance use disorder;
• Dipraglurant – a Phase 2 ready mGlu5 NAM under evaluation for future development in dyskinesia associated with Parkinson’s disease and post-stroke/traumatic brain injury (TBI) recovery; and
• GABAB PAMs in clinical candidate selection for chronic cough.

To guide the launch of Neurosterix, Tim Dyer, in addition to his role at Addex, will assume the role of CEO of Neurosterix. Lénaïc Teyssédou, Head of Finance at Addex will join Addex Executive Management. As part of the transaction, Robert Lutjens and Jean-Philippe Rocher are stepping down from Addex Executive Management to focus on their new roles as Co-Heads of Discovery at Neurosterix. Mikhail Kalinichev, Head of Translational Science at Addex, will also join Neurosterix in a similar role and remain a member of the Executive Management of Addex. The Neurosterix R&D leadership team will continue to support Addex through a service arrangement between the two companies.