Positive CVN424 Phase 2 data for Parkinson’s disease to be presented

Presentation of NETSseq platform’s ability to reveal novel targets to inform CNS drug development

Novel target, CVN417, for the potential treatment of Parkinson’s disease to be disclosed

BOSTON, March 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerevance, a private, clinical-stage drug discovery and development company focused on developing novel therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) diseases using the company’s proprietary Nuclear Enriched Transcript Sort sequencing (NETSseq) platform, today announced plans to present two symposium oral presentations and a poster presentation at the upcoming AD/PD™ 2023 International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases and related neurological disorders, taking place in Gothenburg, Sweden, March 28 – April 1, 2023.

The first symposium oral presentation details the power of the NETSseq platform to generate highly reproducible molecular profiles from specific neuronal and glial cell types from the human brain. This data is being harnessed to identify and select novel targets for drug discovery, like KCNK13, which has the potential to result in life changing therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases.

Presentation details

Title: NETSSEQ Reveals Deep Molecular Insights Into Alzheimer’s Disease Progression and Facilitates Identification of Novel Therapeutic Targets
Presenter: Xiao Xu, PhD
Session Date and Time: Friday, March 31, 2023, 8:40-10:40am
Session Title: Exploring New Targets in AD, FTD, PD, and LBD

The second symposium oral presentation describes data from the Phase 2 clinical trial of CVN424, a novel, non-dopaminergic, GPR6 inverse agonist, in subjects with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and motor complications. In this trial, CVN424 significantly improved OFF time, and was safe and well tolerated with low rates of mostly mild and moderate adverse events. In addition to improvement in motor symptoms, patients treated with CVN424 experienced statistically significant improvement in daytime alertness, as measured with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Patients also reported better experiences of motor aspects of daily living as measured with the UPDRS Part II. This data provides increased confidence in the potential of CVN424 to improve both motor and non-motor symptoms of PD, as observed in pre-clinical models, potentially representing a transformative non-dopaminergic therapy for patients with PD.

Presentation details

Title: CVN424, A Novel GPR6 Inverse Agonist Demonstrates Efficacy in an Adjunctive Parkinson’s Disease Phase 2 Clinical Trial
Presenter: Karl Kieburtz, MD, MPH
Session Date and Time: Saturday, April 1, 2023, 2:45-4:45pm
Session Title: Advances in PD and LBD Diagnosis and Drug Development

The company will also present a poster session characterizing CVN417, a novel and selective modulator of neuronal acetylcholine receptor subunit alpha-6 (nAChR⍺6). Using the NETSseq platform, nAChR⍺6 expression has been shown to be selectivity enriched in PD-relevant dopaminergic neurons in humans. CVN417, which can modulate striatal dopamine release in rodents, has demonstrated efficacy in a rodent model of resting tremor and therefore may have therapeutic utility in PD.

Title: Characterisation of CVN417: A Novel and Selective Nicotinic Alpha6 Receptor Antagonist for the Modulation of Motor Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease
Presenter: Nicola Brice, PhD
Poster: P0823 / #734
Abstract: #393

About Cerevance

Cerevance is a private pharmaceutical company with a focus on CNS disorders. CVN424, Cerevance’s lead therapeutic, is a first-in-class, oral, non-dopaminergic compound acting on a novel target (GPR6), that demonstrated significant and clinically meaningful efficacy in a 136-patient Phase 2 study in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The company uses its proprietary Nuclear Enriched Transcript Sort sequencing (NETSseq) platform to identify highly selectively expressed, novel target proteins that are either specific to certain brain circuits or are over- or under-expressed in diseased brains. Partnering with over 25 brain banks and evaluating an expanding collection of more than 12,000 human post-mortem brain tissue samples, Cerevance is advancing a robust pipeline of targeted treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. For additional information, please visit www.cerevance.com.

Contacts 

Cerevance: 
Johnna Simoes, ir@cerevance.com 

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