Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Mnemosyne working with India’s Jubilant for new drug ideas

By Patricia Resende, Correspondent

(Updated to reflect the fact that Mnemosyne hired Jubilant as a CRO to help Mnemosyne study preclinical drug candidates -Ed.)

Neuroscience-focused biotech company, Mnemosyne Pharmaceuticals Inc., has tapped India’s Jubilant Biosys Ltd. to help in its search for preclinical candidates for treatments for neuropsychiatric diseases.
 
Providence, R.I.-based Mnemosyne will collaborate with Jubilant on the development of subunit-selective N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor modulators that Mnemosyne has identified. NMDA receptors aid in the connection between neurons and control memory function. The agreement is slated to last two years but may be extended if both companies agree to the extension, according to a news release.

Mnemosyne Chief Executive Kollol Pal said in a news release that he is “very impressed” with the integrated chemistry and biology expertise at Jubilant. No one at the company was available to comment on the collaboration.

The deal with Jubilant comes just weeks after Mnemosyne received its first round of funding. The $5.4 million Series A round will help Mnemoysne further develop its small molecules to treat neuropsychciatric disorders.

Just months after it was founded in 2010 by Frank Menniti, Ph.D., and Bert Chenard, Ph.D., researchers with a deep background in NMDA receptor pharmacology and drug discovery for neuropsychiatric disorders, the startup took in seed funding from the Slater Technology Fund and unnamed private investors.

Mnemosyne’s pipleine of NMDA receptor modulators are focused on improving function in patients with Schizophrenia, but are also being developed to improve function in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease, improve a patient’s recovery after a stroke and to reduce the impulsiveness in people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Mnemosyne was profiled as a Mass High Tech “Startup Watch: Five you should follow” company in December.