Cerevance, a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company focused on brain diseases, today announced the start of dosing in a Phase I first-in-human clinical trial of CVN424, an oral compound being developed for symptomatic treatment of Parkinson's disease. This first-in-class compound modulates a novel protein target selectively expressed in an important class of dopamine-responsive neurons in the striatum. The Phase I, double-blind, single- and multiple-ascending dose study being conducted in the United States will assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile of CVN424 in healthy subjects, as well as effects of food on the compound's absorption.
"CVN424 activates key dopamine-responsive motor pathways but not the neurons implicated in levodopa-induced dyskinesias, the uncontrolled movements that afflict so many Parkinson's patients," noted David Margolin, Senior VP of Clinical and Translational Medicine at Cerevance. "This selectivity may allow CVN424 to match the positive effects of the current standard of care, levodopa, without its side effects."
"The completion of preclinical studies, the successful filing of the IND, and now the initiation of the first-in-human clinical trial for CVN424 are significant milestones for our company," said Mark Carlton, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Cerevance. "This compound exemplifies Cerevance's approach of identifying and modulating therapeutic targets that are selectively expressed in disrupted circuits or vulnerable neuronal and glial populations in central nervous system diseases."
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