Novartis grants milestone payment to Cadent for Phase 2 MIJ821 trial

MIJ821 is a potent and selective NMDA receptor modulator being developed for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression

Cadent Therapeutics, a precision neuroscience company, has recently announced that it has received the second milestone payment from Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis, after commencing a Phase 2 clinical study of MIJ821 in development for treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Reportedly, MIJ821 is a subtype selective NMDA receptor negative allosteric modulator (NAM). Cadent is focused on the development of therapies to recover the lives of patients who suffer from cognitive and movement disorders.

According to Chief Executive Officer of Cadent Therapeutics, Jodie Morrison, Novartis has advanced MIJ821 to the next step of clinical development. MIJ821 is a potent and selective NMDA receptor modulator that company believes would take both a differentiated and important position in the treatment of treatment-resistant depression by developing on the certified mechanism of NMDAr modulation, Morrison said.

Sources close to the matter informed that Cadent Therapeutics had licensed the intellectual property for compounds that selectively modulate NR2B-carrying NMDA receptors to Novartis exclusively. MIJ821 (CAD-9271) was included in the license. For the program, Novartis is responsible for all research and development.

For the uninitiated, Cadent Therapeutics is involved in generating therapies for the treatment of cognitive impairment and movement disorders. The company combines patient selection, novel quantitative endpoints, target specificity, and drug design and optimization to generate first-in-class molecules to treat cognitive disorders and movement.

Supposedly, the company is swiftly advancing its portfolio of positive allosteric modulators to treat schizophrenia, essential tremor, and spinocerebellar ataxia. The company has an absolute license and partnership agreement with Novartis to develop a negative allosteric modulator (NAM), which now under Phase 1 clinical studies for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Sources mentioned that investors in the company include Slater Technology Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, Access Industries, Atlas Venture, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Clal Biotechnology Industries and Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research.

Source Credit: http://www.cadenttx.com/2019/05/23/cadent-receives-milestone-payment-for-initiation-of-phase-2-trial-of-mij821-in-treatment-resistant-depression/