IAMA Therapeutics and Psychogenics Sign a Preclinical Study Agreement for Dravet Syndrome

January 12, 2023 |

3 min read

IAMA Therapeutics and PsychoGenics Inc. today announced that the companies have entered into an additional services agreement to identify the efficacy of novel drug candidates in preclinical animal models of Dravet syndrome.

GENOA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IAMA Therapeutics, a preclinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel medicines to make a difference in the lives of individuals suffering from brain disorders, and PsychoGenics Inc., a leader in AI-enabled phenotypic drug discovery and preclinical CRO services, today announced that the companies have entered into an additional services agreement to identify the efficacy of novel drug candidates in preclinical animal models of Dravet syndrome.

Under the terms of this second agreement, PsychoGenics will evaluate the anti-seizure efficacy of first-in-class selective-NKCC1 inhibitors, which aim to reduce intracellular chloride concentration and restore the physiological hyperpolarizing and inhibitory GABAergic transmission in a preclinical model of Dravet syndrome.

“Our internal research efforts give us confidence that modulating intracellular chloride could be an effective treatment for reducing seizures in individuals affected by Dravet syndrome,” said Andrea P. Malizia, Ph.D., MBA, Chief Executive Officer at IAMA Therapeutics. “The expertise of PsychoGenics in anti-epilepsy drug testing through the electrographic and behavioral identification of seizures will allow us to accelerate the efforts toward the development of a potential treatment.”

“We are excited to be working with IAMA Therapeutics,” said Stephen Morairty, Ph.D., Vice President of Translational Neuroscience at PsychoGenics. “Dravet syndrome is a severe disorder lacking adequate therapies. We will use our extensive knowledge of the seizure phenotype in a preclinic model of Dravet syndrome to carefully evaluate the efficacy of these first-in-class selective-NKCC1 inhibitors.”

About Dravet syndrome
Dravet syndrome is a rare form of intractable epilepsy that begins in infancy and proceeds with accumulating morbidity that significantly impacts individuals throughout their lifetime. The primary goal of treatment is to reduce or eliminate seizures, improve cognition, and reduce the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Early and effective control of the seizures may improve the child’s long-term outlook.

About IAMA Therapeutics
IAMA Therapeutics is a Series A late-preclinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel medicines to make a difference in the lives of children suffering from epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders. IAMA Therapeutics couples emerging advances in drug discovery and neurobiology to selectively inhibit the cation chloride cotransporters and other therapeutic targets relevant to brain disorders characterized by neuronal imbalance.

For more information, please visit https://iamatherapeutics.com/.

About PsychoGenics Inc.
PsychoGenics is a leader in vivo phenotypic drug discovery. The company applies its proprietary technology platforms in partnership with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to discover the next generation of drugs for neuropsychiatric disorders. PsychoGenics’ capabilities include standard behavioral testing, electrophysiology, translational EEG, molecular biology, and state-of-the-art microdialysis. In addition, the company offers a variety of in-licensed transgenic mouse models that support research in areas such as Huntington’s disease, Autism spectrum disorders, psychosis/schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, sleep, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), muscular dystrophy and other muscle disorders.

For more information on PsychoGenics Inc., visit www.psychogenics.com.