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news.Luc Therapeutics has signed a license and collaboration agreement with Novartis to accelerate development of its program for the treatment of depression.
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The collaboration will use Luc’s capability platform in NMDA-receptor modulation. The company will focus its in-house research efforts on programs to develop first-in-class therapeutics for addressing cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.
Luc has exclusively licensed intellectual property to Novartis for compounds that selectively negatively modulate NR2B-containing NMDA receptors.
Novartis will fund all research and development for the program as well as make an upfront payment to Luc. It also includes development and sales milestones and royalties.
Luc Therapeutics CEO Vanessa King said: "Novartis’ commitment to connecting the laboratory to the clinic, and pursuing molecular pathways across a landscape of multiple diseases, is a natural fit with Luc’s focus.
"This is an exciting time for neuroscience drug discovery. Increased understanding of brain function and neuropharmacology coupled with refined in vitro and in vivo tools are fundamentally improving our ability to translate discoveries in the laboratory into therapeutics to improve the lives of underserved patients."
Luc is planning to discover new treatments for neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders by targeting dynamic synaptic plasticity.
The company’s in-house discovery efforts focus on agents for addressing cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and other serious psychiatric diseases via positive allosteric modulation of the NMDA receptor (NMDA-PAMs).