LB-102 is a novel benzamide designed to be an improved version of amisulpride, a drug successfully used in Europe but unavailable in the United States. The ongoing study aims to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of LB-102 in healthy volunteers.
LB-102 was designed to mimic amisulpride’s binding affinity to the D2/D3 and 5HT7 receptors while improving brain permeability. Amisulpride is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and is widely prescribed in over 50 countries, including the EU. In in vitro and in vivo preclinical assays, LB-102’s biophysicochemical properties, including PK, receptor binding, and behavioral studies, were equivalent or superior to amisulpride’s.
“The preclinical activity profile of LB-102 suggests that it has the potential to build upon the excellent efficacy and safety profile observed in the clinical use of amisulpride for over 20 years,” stated Zachary Prensky, President and CEO. “We believe that, if approved, LB-102 would make for a useful addition to the toolbox of treatments available to psychiatrists for the treatment of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia affects approximately 3 million Americans and in many patients, approved antipsychotics offer only modest efficacy and significant side effects.”
Source: Company Press Release