Gabriel Sciences, a Maryland biotech company founded by David Pickar MD, enters into a collaborative project, "Triple Re-Uptake Inhibitors: Potential Antidepressants." Candidate compounds synthesized by the research team of Professor Paul Carlier PhD at Virginia Tech, and tested by the research team of Professor Elliott Richelson MD at Mayo Clinic, show activity in preclinical tests that are predictive of antidepressant activity in humans. The grant will allow the selection of a lead compound to continue into preclinical toxicology testing for initial studies in humans. These potential antidepressant compounds have a novel mechanism of action - blockade of transporters for the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. This novel "triple reuptake blockade" approach holds promise for a more effective and rapidly-acting antidepressant.
BETHESDA, Md. (Business Wire EON) January 14, 2008 --
Gabriel Sciences, a Maryland biotech company founded by David
Pickar MD, enters into a collaborative project, “Triple
Re-Uptake Inhibitors: Potential Antidepressants.”
Candidate compounds synthesized by the research team of Professor Paul
Carlier PhD at Virginia Tech, and tested by the research team of
Professor Elliott Richelson MD at Mayo Clinic, show activity in
preclinical tests that are predictive of antidepressant activity in
humans. The grant will allow the selection of a lead compound to
continue into preclinical toxicology testing for initial studies in
humans. These potential antidepressant compounds have a novel mechanism
of action – blockade of transporters for the
neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. This novel “triple
reuptake blockade” approach holds promise for
a more effective and rapidly-acting antidepressant.
“This award is an example of the promising
collaborative opportunities that can be developed between the biotech
industry and academic medicine through the NIH SBIR or STTR mechanisms.
Gabriel Sciences [Primary Awardee]
brings agile drug development abilities to pioneering science from Mayo
Clinic [Subawardee],”
notes David Pickar MD, President of Gabriel Sciences and Principal
Investigator for the grant. Dr. Richelson serves as the Mayo Clinic
Investigator for this Grant.
* Small Business Innovation Research grant #1R43MH081365-01 The content
is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily
represent the official views of the National Institutes of Mental Health
or the National Institutes of Health.
About Gabriel Sciences
Gabriel Sciences (formerly Gabriel
Pharma) is a biotech company with the mission to advance treatment
and understanding of mental illness through its translational research,
including collaborative opportunities with academic medicine. David
Pickar MD, founder, is former Chief of the Experimental Therapeutics
Branch at National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) with current
adjunct appointments as Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine and Uniformed Services University of
Health Sciences. Gabriel Sciences is the recipient of NIH SBIR Phase I
and Phase II grants for the development of a clinical DNA database
enabling predictors of antipsychotic drug response. The current
antidepressant program, which is a collaborative project, adds to
Gabriel Sciences’ portfolio of drug
development for the treatment of mental illness.
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