NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Ovid Therapeutics has partnered with NeuroPointDX to identify novel biomarkers of Angelman syndrome in order to advance the development of a treatment for the rare genetic condition, the companies announced today.
Angelman Syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by developmental delay, seizures, and balance difficulties, and is associated with a reduction in sustained neuron inhibition known as tonic inhibition. Ovid is developing a compound called OV101 (gaboxadol) that is designed to prevent the disruption of tonic inhibition for both Angelman syndrome and fragile X syndrome.
Under the terms of their agreement, NeuroPointDX will use its metabolomics platform to analyze patient profile data from an ongoing Phase II trial of OV101 in Angelman syndrome in order to uncover biomarkers that may provide insights into the disease, help monitor treatment response, and identify patients most likely to respond to the drug.
Additional terms were not disclosed.
"The metabolic profile of this syndrome is not well understood, and we believe this biomarker study will produce critical data to fill this gap and inform us about the impact of OV101 as a potential treatment option," Ovid President and CSO Matthew During said in a statement. "This collaboration is the first step in Ovid's broader rare neurological disorder biomarker strategy to identify molecular markers of treatment responders and guide enrollment of participants in our clinical trials."