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Domain Therapeutics granted EUR 933,000 for schizophrenia work
03-13-2012
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STRASBOURG, France—Biopharmaceutical company Domain
Therapeutics, which focuses on discovering and developing small molecules that
target G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), has announced that the French
government has selected Domain Therapeutics' ATHOS project to receive
government funding. The project's goal is to develop new drug candidates and
identify therapeutic targets for the treatment of schizophrenia.
The ATHOS project will receive a total of EUR 5.1 million
over the course of three years. Roughly 45
percent of the ATHOS budget will be
provided by central and regional government organizations, including the grant
of EUR 933,000 to Domain
Therapeutics.
"Domain Therapeutics' know-how in the field of GPCRs
combined with our
proprietary technology, DTect-All, and the excellence of our
two partners will enable us to bring a solution to this challenge of
identifying candidate
drugs targeting orphan GPCRs linked to schizophrenia," Pascal
Neuville, CEO of Domain Therapeutics, said in a press release. "The ATHOS
project
allows us to extend our franchise in neuropsychiatric disorders and in
challenging and innovative therapeutic targets."
The project will be centered on orphan GPCRs. Currently,
GPCRs represent the targets for 40 percent of drugs that are on the market,
making them the largest class of therapeutic targets. Orphan GPCRs have gotten
less attention, however, due to the lack of an identified endogenous
ligand.
This corner of the market represents a great deal of potential for discovery
and therapeutics, as roughly 150 orphan GPCRs have been described
so far.
The ATHOS consortium, which is led by Domain Therapeutics,
also includes Prestwick Chemical and the Brigitte Kieffer laboratory at the
Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology. The Brigitte
Kieffer
laboratory will be in charge of mapping orphan GPCRs in the brain as well as
obtaining animal models in order to validate targets for
neuropsychiatric
disorders. For its part, Prestwick Chemical will leverage its experience in
optimizing active compounds.
Schizophrenia currently affects an estimated 24 million
people worldwide, and according to the World Health Organization, more than 50
percent of those suffering from
schizophrenia are not receiving appropriate
care. The disease, which affects the central nervous system, generally begins
in adolescence. It involves a
dissociation of the patient's personality, and
auditory hallucinations, paranoid delirium and attention disorders are common.
In addition, the life
expectancy of those with schizophrenia is on average 12
years shorter than that of those without the disease. WHO notes that "though
the incidence is
low (3-10,000), the prevalence is high due to chronicity." While there are treatments available, there is no cure for the disease.
The funding that the project will receive comes from the
French government fund Fonds Unique Interministériel, the Alsace
Region and
OSEO.
SOURCE:
Domain Therapeutics press release Code: E03131200 Back |
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