SPONSORED POST
WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–February 26, 2014–
Synchroneuron Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing new therapies to treat tardive dyskinesia (TD) and other neuropsychiatric disorders, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic behavior of orally-administered SNC-102, a new formulation of acamprosate calcium.
Synchroneuron expects to enroll 90 patients across 12 clinical sites. The Phase 2 study will evaluate the clinical efficacy of SNC-102 tablets as measured by the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), the standard rating scale for measuring severity of involuntary movements in TD. Using this scale, the study will evaluate the effectiveness of SNC-102 once daily (QD) or twice daily (BID) versus placebo over a four week treatment period. The study will also characterize the pharmacokinetic profile in TD patients and its relationship to the clinical effects of the drug.
“Synchroneuron is committed to the development of what could be the first approved drug therapy for tardive dyskinesia, offering relief to patients who suffer the disabling and stigmatizing effects of TD,” said William Kerns, DVM, Chief Executive Officer of Synchroneuron Inc.
SNC-102 is a unique formulation of acamprosate calcium, an FDA-approved drug for treating alcohol dependence. The use of acamprosate calcium in the treatment of TD was pioneered by Synchroneuron co-founder and inventor, Barry Fogel, MD. Dr. Fogel is a neuropsychiatrist and behavioral neurologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. SNC-102 was developed by Synchroneuron to improve the pharmacokinetic properties of acamprosate. Synchroneuron’s Phase 1 studies have shown that SNC-102 can produce sustained plasma levels of acamprosate that are anticipated to be efficacious for treating TD and potentially other neuropsychiatric disorders.
“There is a significant unmet medical need among patients who suffer from tardive dyskinesia, and SNC-102 has the potential to bring these patients much needed relief from the often debilitating involuntary movements that characterize this disease,” said Gary Remington, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Remington, an internationally-recognized authority on TD, is an advisor to Synchroneuron.
The participating clinical sites include five academic centers of excellence in neurology and psychiatry. The sites are:
- Atlanta Center for Medical Research, Atlanta, GA
- Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
- Claghorn-Lesem Research Clinic, Houston, TX
- Collaborative Neuroscience Network, Garden Grove, CA
- FutureSearch Trials, Austin, TX
- InSite Clinical Research, DeSoto, TX
- Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
- Pacific Research Partners, Oakland, CA
- Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL
- Synergy Research, National City, CA
- UCLA-Greater Los Angeles VA, Los Angeles, CA
- University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
For patients and physicians interested in enrollment information, please visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02064010?term=SNC-102&rank=1.
About Tardive Dyskinesia
Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a chronic movement disorder caused by prolonged exposure to medications that block dopamine receptors, including antipsychotic drugs and some drugs used to treat nausea. It is characterized by involuntary, repetitive movements that usually involve the face and in more severe cases affect the trunk and/or extremities. Involuntary movements of the lips, cheeks, tongue and jaw are typical. The disorder is irreversible in the majority of cases. TD may affect as many as one million people in the US alone, and 200,000 or more may suffer severe symptoms.
TD has been recognized for nearly six decades but to date there is no generally-accepted or FDA-approved treatment.
About Synchroneuron
Synchroneuron Inc. is a privately held life science company based in the Boston area engaged in developing novel treatments to treat tardive dyskinesia (TD) and other neuropsychiatric disorders . Synchroneuron Inc. was founded in 2011 by inventor and neurologist Barry Fogel, MD, and the principals (William Kerns, DVM, Kei-Lai Fong, PhD, and Marc Cote) of Accellient Partners LLC, a consulting firm that provides drug development expertise and services to established biopharmaceutical companies and life science startups; Accellient led the formation and funding of Synchroneuron. Synchroneuron secured $6 million in Series A financing in 2012 from Morningside Technology Ventures Limited, a leading life science venture capital firm. Please visit www.synchroneuron.com for more information.
LaVoie Group
David Connolly, 617-374-8800, Ext. 104
dconnolly@lavoiegroup.com
VentureBeat and David Raab are working on a new Marketing Automation usage and ROI study. If you currently use a marketing automation system, help us out by answering the survey. If you do, we'll share the resulting data with you.