Areas of Interest*:

• Broad interest in agents and novel mechanisms with potential disease modifying activity
  • Agents must have demonstrated preclinical in vivo CNS activity
  • Targets of interest include targets that:
    • Increase amyloid clearance
    • Reduce pathophysiological forms of tau
    • Modulate inflammatory / innate responses
• Broad interest in agents and novel mechanisms with potential for symptomatic improvement
  • With clinical POC, or within pathways with clinical POC
  • May be used as monotherapy or in combination with current therapies

* Biomarkers: An important aspect for all successful neuroscience licensing submissions is a focus on target engagement, PK / PD, and efficacy and safety biomarkers to be used in conjunction with the program.

Tools and Technologies:

• Well characterized AD patient “neurons” derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPCSs)
• Prognostic, diagnostic, and progression biomarkers of disease and disease state with strong preclinical or clinical validation
  • Tau imaging agents, other imaging biomarkers with clinical validation
  • Fluid-based diagnostic approaches with clinical validation
• Novel animal models for target identification evaluation
  • Models that develop both plaques and tangles, and that display neuronal loss, and cognitive decline correlated with age and pathology
• Novel genetic / RNA-based approaches to target validation or therapeutics

Not Interested in:

• Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
• Inhibitors of Aβ production
• Antibodies against amyloid
• NMDA antagonists
• Anti-Aβ vaccines and antibodies
• Antioxidants
• Metal chelators
• Other general neuroprotectants

Areas of Interest*:

• Novel therapeutic agents which, alone or in combination, address unmet needs in migraine or migraine prophylaxis
• Mechanisms that mimic or complement CGRP antagonists for acute migraine

* Biomarkers: An important aspect for all successful neuroscience licensing submissions is a focus on target engagement, PK / PD, and efficacy and safety biomarkers to be used in conjunction with the program.

Tools and Technologies:

• Novel and patented delivery systems (oral, buccal, injectable, intranasal) for novel low-dose molecules

Not Interested in:

• Triptans
• Ergotamines and ergotamine-derived treatments
• COX-2 inhibitors and NSAIDs
• Synergistic combination approaches of existing migraine drugs
• Serotonin agonists
• New formulations of existing migraine drugs

Areas of Interest*:

• Novel targets and therapeutic agents for neuropathic or inflammatory pain in mechanisms or pathways with human genetic or clinical validation
  • Subtype selective sodium channel blockers
  • Selective Trk inhibitors
  • Anticonvulsants showing clinical efficacy and safety
• Agents for treatment of postoperative pain showing efficacy and safety in humans
• Synergistic combination approaches showing improved efficacy or safety as add-on or part of novel combination therapy
• Abuse-deterrent opioids at or near registration

* Biomarkers: An important aspect for all successful neuroscience licensing submissions is a focus on target engagement, PK / PD, and efficacy and safety biomarkers to be used in conjunction with the program.

Tools and Technologies:

• Translational measures of nerve hyperexcitability
• Biomarkers and genetic markers for chronic pain
• Glutamate sensors
• Characterized neuropathic pain patient populations
• Alternate formulation delivery technologies (eg, topical patch)

Not Interested in:

• Undifferentiated reformulations of marketed products
• NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors
• iNOS inhibitors
• Serotonergics
• Opioids delivered by device
• FAAH inhibitors or cannabinoid agonists

Areas of Interest*:

• Agents and mechanisms for disease modification in genetically or clinically validated pathways
• Nondopaminergic agents with preclinical or clinical POC in palliative therapy for Parkinson’s disease
• Nondopaminergic agents that preclinically or clinically reduce / eliminate L-dopa-induced dyskinesias
• Different formulations of approved products that have demonstrated clinically significant benefits in efficacy, safety / tolerability, and / or dosing vs standard of care

* Biomarkers: An important aspect for all successful neuroscience licensing submissions is a focus on target engagement, PK / PD, and efficacy and safety biomarkers to be used in conjunction with the program.

Tools and Technologies:

• Approaches and biomarkers that may identify prodromal stages of disease. Must have robust preclinical data
• Animal models of Parkinson’s disease progression, including animal models with a basis in human genetics (eg, LRRK2 Tg animals)
• Pathway biomarkers of neurodegeneration
• Well-characterized PD patient “neurons” derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPCSs)

Not Interested in:

• Metal chelators
• Antioxidants
• Dopaminergic agents unless formulated to address a major unmet need
• Other general neuroprotectants

Clinical proof of concept is needed for licensing

Areas of Interest*:

Novel compounds and chemical leads for: Schizophrenia

• Agents for monotherapy or add-on therapy for positive, negative, and / or cognitive symptoms
  • In novel mechanisms that modulate clinically validated pathways, or
  • In mechanisms with clinical POC that lack the adverse event profile of atypical antipsychotics

Bipolar, Depression, and Anxiety

• Agents with robust clinical POC for monotherapy and / or add-on that are at or near registration

* Biomarkers: An important aspect for all successful neuroscience licensing submissions is a focus on target engagement, PK / PD, and efficacy and safety biomarkers to be used in conjunction with the program.

Tools and Technologies:

• Imaging target engagement tools for novel mechanisms

Not Interested in:

• Monoamine-based atypical antipsychotics
• SSRI / SNRI
• Animal models for psychiatric diseases

Clinical proof of concept is needed for licensing

Areas of Interest*:

• Orexin-mediated mechanisms
• Exploring the biology of the orexin systems and alternate uses of the modulation of orexin 1 and 2 receptors
• Synergistic combination approaches
  • Therapies providing improved efficacy or safety as add-on or part of novel combination therapy with orexin antagonists

* Biomarkers: An important aspect for all successful neuroscience licensing submissions is a focus on target engagement, PK / PD, and efficacy and safety biomarkers to be used in conjunction with the program.

Tools and Technologies:

• Alternative formulations to facilitate administration to elderly and adolescent patients

Not Interested in:

• Benzodiazepines
• Devices for obstructive sleep apnea
• Other mechanisms for treatment of sleep disorders

Areas of Interest**:

Retinal diseases

• Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
  • Wet AMD therapies showing less-invasive dosing than Lucentis™ / VEGF-Trap (topical, periocular) and / or additional efficacy
  • Dry AMD therapies to reduce geographic atrophy progression
• Diabetic retinopathy / diabetic macular edema
  • Mechanisms to reduce progression of NPDR in moderately-to-severely affected patients
  • Mechanisms to treat patients with existing vision loss with superior efficacy and / or favorable adverse event profile vs laser and steroids
• Glaucoma
  • Nonprostanoid MOAs with efficacy and / or tolerability ≥ Xalatan™
  • Additional properties of interest: trabecular outflow enhancers, nontopical delivery formulations, neuroprotective activity
• Anterior segment disease
  • Allergic conjunctivitis
  • Bacterial conjunctivitis
  • Dry eye
  • Novel anti-inflammatories for anterior and posterior segments – with significantly improved safety profile over standard care

** We would consider compounds/agents that have established POC in clinical phase II or later

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Tools and Technologies:

• Ophthalmic delivery technologies that improve patient compliance, efficacy and/or tolerability, especially in a preservative-free fashion