Anxiety drug development accelerated
Adelaide-based biopharmaceutical company Bionomics is preparing to accelerate development of a new drug for the treatment of anxiety and depression.
In an announcement to the ASX today, the company said it had received approval to begin a Phase 1b human clinical trial in France of the drug, BNC210, to be conducted by Biotrial International Limited.
This is expected to enable further refinement of BNC210 dose levels in a Phase II trial in patients with anxiety, which, if approved, could begin in the first quarter of 2015.
Bionomics has received $US10 million ($A11.6 million) in funding from the US Silicon Valley Bank for the development of the drug.
You might like
“With the added financial support for clinical trials, Bionomics is poised to continue to make important progress for patients suffering from anxiety and depression,” said Michael White, managing director of Life Sciences in the bank’s Southwest Division.
The ASX announcement said Bionomics and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc had mutually agreed to terminate their arrangement for collaboration on the worldwide development and commercialisation of BNC210. Bionomics has now reacquired sole rights to develop and sell the drug, although Ironwood will retain a royalty interest.
Bionomics CEO and managing director Dr Deborah Rathjen said the company was “well positioned for both development and potential future partnering.”
“Bionomics is in a strong position to dedicate the necessary internal resources and has secured non-dilutive funding specifically for the purpose of progressing BNC210 into the next stage of development,” she said.
Bionomics is also developing treatments for cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Want to see more stories from InDailySA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDailySA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDailySA". That's it.
