Cerevance Publishes CVN293 in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters

Selective CVN293 may have treatment potential in multiple neurodegenerative conditions

BOSTON, April 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cerevance, a company focused on developing precision novel therapeutics for central nervous system diseases, today announced that the peer-reviewed journal, ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, has published the manuscript titled “Discovery of CVN293, a Brain Permeable KCNK13 (THIK-1) Inhibitor Suitable for Clinical Assessment”.

CVN293, currently in a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers, targets the NETSseq-identified, potassium (K⁺) ion channel, KCNK13, which is specifically expressed in human microglia. Elevated KCNK13 levels have been observed in post-mortem human brain tissue from individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Developed as a potent, selective, and brain-permeable therapeutic agent, CVN293 aims to modulate KCNK13 for potential application in a range of neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and frontotemporal dementia.

“We are delighted to publish the discovery of CVN293 as we anticipate its ability to selectively suppress neuroinflammation while mitigating impacts on the peripheral immune system,” said Mark Carlton, Ph.D., chief scientific officer for Cerevance. “Preserving the integrity of the peripheral immune system is of paramount importance, particularly for patients experiencing immunosenescence, the age-related decline in immune function commonly observed in elderly individuals managing neurodegenerative conditions.”

The publication can be found at the following link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsmedchemlett.4c00035

About Cerevance
Cerevance is focused on the development of precision treatments for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Utilizing a large and growing repository of over 15,000 human brain tissue samples, Cerevance is generating an unprecedented level of expression and epigenetic data thereby enabling the company to identify the most promising targets for the next generation of treatments for CNS disorders.

The company uses its proprietary Nuclear Enriched Transcript Sort sequencing (NETSseq) platform and advanced machine learning techniques to uncover the gene expression profiles of select cell types to identify novel targets that are uniquely expressed in relevant circuits affected by diseases or are altered in disease states. With the information obtained from its research, combined with the expertise of its team of scientists and drug developers, Cerevance is advancing multiple therapeutics that selectively modulate the discovered targets. These treatments are progressing through clinical development, with CVN424, CVN766, and CVN293 being the furthest along in the pipeline. CVN424 is a first-in-class non-dopamine therapy that shows promise in improving both motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and may also have disease-delaying effects. CVN766 is a potent and highly selective antagonist of the orexin 1 receptor which may benefit various psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia, anxiety/panic, binge eating/obesity, substance use disorder, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. CVN293 is a novel blocker of potassium efflux in glia, regulating the inflammasome in individuals living with neurodegenerative diseases.

Cerevance’s robust pipeline aims to transform the lives of patients affected by CNS diseases.

Contacts

Cerevance:
Johnna Simoes, ir@cerevance.com

Media:
Andrew Mielach, amielach@lifescicomms.com, +1-646-876-5868