Addrenex Pharmaceuticals, Durham, NC, gained worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize ADX-NO5, a drug for the treatment of narcolepsy. Addrenex signed an agreement with the SK Life Science Business division of SK Holdings Co Ltd, South Korea, to license the narcolepsy drug.
The ADX-NO5 licensing deal provides Addrenex with its fourth drug candidate to enter clinical trials in 3 years. ADX-NO5 demonstrated potential to treat excessive daytime sleepiness as well as the associated cataplexy in preclinical trials, according to Addrenex. Additionally, the company said that the drug exhibited the capability to decrease DREM, the direct transition from wakefulness to an REM sleep state. ADX-NO5 was demonstrated to be safe and well tolerated.
The company plans to begin phase 2 testing of the drug later in 2009.
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