Cerevance Achieves First Milestone in Research Collaboration with Merck
May 02 2024 - 8:30AM
Cerevance, a company focused on developing precision novel
therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) diseases, announced
the achievement of the first milestone in its research
collaboration with Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States
and Canada. The research collaboration, which was announced in
August of 2022, focuses on the identification of novel therapeutic
targets for Alzheimer’s disease. The achievement of this milestone
triggers an undisclosed payment from Merck to Cerevance.
“We are excited by the progress we've made thus far in our
research collaboration with Merck, as demonstrated by today’s
milestone,” said Craig Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of
Cerevance. “This accomplishment further showcases the potential of
NETSseq in identifying novel targets for Alzheimer’s disease and
various neurological disorders.”
Under the collaboration, Cerevance identified targets using its
proprietary Nuclear Enriched Transcript Sort sequencing (NETSseq)
platform for which Merck selected an undisclosed number of targets
to advance to target validation.
About CerevanceCerevance is focused on the
development of precision treatments for central nervous system
(CNS) disorders, including chronic neurodegenerative conditions
such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal
dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Utilizing a large and
growing repository of over 15,000 human brain tissue samples,
Cerevance is generating an unprecedented level of expression and
epigenetic data thereby enabling the company to identify the most
promising targets for the next generation of treatments for CNS
disorders.
The company uses its proprietary Nuclear Enriched Transcript
Sort sequencing (NETSseq) platform and advanced machine learning
techniques to uncover the gene expression profiles of select cell
types to identify novel targets that are uniquely expressed in
relevant circuits affected by diseases or are altered in disease
states. With the information obtained from its research, combined
with the expertise of its team of scientists and drug developers,
Cerevance is advancing multiple therapeutics through clinical
development, with CVN424, CVN766, and CVN293 being the furthest
along in the pipeline. CVN424 is a first-in-class non-dopamine
therapy that shows promise in improving both motor and non-motor
symptoms of Parkinson's disease and may also have disease-delaying
effects. CVN766 is a potent and highly selective antagonist of the
orexin 1 receptor which may benefit various psychiatric conditions
including schizophrenia, anxiety/panic, binge eating/obesity,
substance use disorder, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. CVN293 is a
novel blocker of potassium efflux in glia, regulating the
inflammasome in individuals living with neurodegenerative
diseases.
Cerevance’s robust pipeline aims to transform the lives of
patients affected by CNS diseases.
Contacts
Cerevance: Johnna Simoes, ir@cerevance.com
Media: Andrew Mielach,
amielach@lifescicomms.com, +1-646-876-5868