Finding a Cure for Fragile X
With a $200,043 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation, Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis completed a successful Phase 2 clinical trial of a PDE4 inhibitor for adult men with Fragile X syndrome. This trial treated 30 males, 18-45 years of age with a new PDE4D allosteric inhibitor from Tetra Discovery Partners using a crossover design, so that everyone got active drug for part of the time and placebo for part of the time.
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Tetra Therapeutics has launched large scale clinical trials of their phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor for males ages 12-45 with Fragile X syndrome. FRAXA Research Foundation’s basic and translational research pointed the way to phosphodiesterase inhibitors to treat Fragile X many years ago.
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Dr. Mark Gurney, CEO of Tetra Therapeutics, discusses how one of the earliest clues to the biology of Fragile X led to the most successful Fragile X clinical trial to date. FRAXA and Tetra began working together after a key FRAXA-funded study caught the attention of Dr. Gurney. Through the FRAXA Drug Validation Initiative, Dr. Patricia Cogram was able to conduct preclinical validation experiments with Tetra’s lead compound in record time, paving the way for clinical trials.
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The FRAXA Drug Validation Initiative (FRAXA-DVI) provides speedy, cost-effective, objective preclinical testing of potential Fragile X treatments. FRAXA-DVI uses in-vitro systems, behavior batteries, and gene expression and peripheral biomarker platforms to validate investigational new drugs and repurposed available compounds in Fragile X syndrome (FXS).
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Today, Tetra Therapeutics published the full results of its PDE4D trial published the full results to their announcement. Now having reviewed the full results, FRAXA can confidently say that the PDE4D drug trial gives hope to patients and families that Fragile X Syndrome is a treatable disorder, and this particular drug can improve intellectual disability.
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In November 2020, a phase II clinical trial reported extremely successful results. This clinical trial of a PDE4D inhibitor from Tetra Pharmaceuticals was conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis at Rush University Medical Center and funded by FRAXA Research Foundation. In this Simons Foundation lecture, Elizabeth Berry-Kravis traces 30 years of Fragile X research, from identifying its cause, through finding dozens of treatment targets, through a series of disappointing clinical trials.
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Today, Tetra Therapeutics announces the first unequivocally positive phase 2 clinical trial in Fragile X syndrome, press release below. The results do not depend on carving out a subset of patients or post hoc analysis.
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Tetra Therapeutics and Shionogi announced plans to expand their partnership supporting BPN14770, a treatment candidate for disorders marked by cognitive and memory deficits, including Fragile X syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. The agreement builds on an earlier collaboration between the two companies, and aims to further accelerate BPN14770’s development and potential marketing. It is currently in clinical testing in both Fragile X and Alzheimer’s patients.
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A Fragile X clinical trial of a new PDE4D allosteric inhibitor from Tetra Therapeutics is nearly complete. Right now there are 3 remaining spots open to males 18-45 years of age with Fragile X syndrome. Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is leading this trial. The drug being studied has a unique mechanism of action that might improve cognitive and memory function.
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FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded a $90,000 grant to Principal Investigator Dr. Sean McBride and Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Karen Joyce, at Rowan University, to screen all 2,320 FDA-approved drugs on both mouse and fly models of Fragile X syndrome. Those drugs which show promise will be tested in more detail for potential to treat Fragile X in humans.
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Tetra Discovery Partners has signed a multi-part deal that could bring it up to $160 million, plus royalties, from Shionogi & Co, Ltd, a Japanese major research-driven pharmaceutical company. Tetra currently is conducting an investigational Phase 2 study of BPN14770 in adults with Fragile X Syndrome, an indication for which BPN14770 has received Orphan Drug Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration. This clinical trial was made possible by early work with the FRAXA-DVI and over $200,000 from FRAXA.
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FRAXA Research Foundation funded a grant of $90,000 over 2016-2018, for a postdoctoral fellowship for Thomas Maurin, PhD, working under the mentorship of Dr. Barbara Bardoni at INSERM in France. The team works on the biochemistry of the Fragile X protein. They have found that PDE inhibitors (a class of drugs) show promise as treatments for Fragile X syndrome. In related research, FRAXA is currently funding a clinical trial of PDE4D inhibitors.
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This 2-Period Crossover Study of BPN14770 is accepting adults males with Fragile X syndrome at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Principal Investigator of the study is Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD.
A selective inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase type-4D (PDE4D), BPN14770 has shown the ability to improve the quality of connections between neurons and to improve multiple behavioral outcomes in the Fragile X mouse model.
With a $100,000 grant from the FRAXA Research Foundation in 2015, Dr. Peter Vanderklish explored a novel strategy to treat Fragile X syndrome: AMPK activators. The good news is that there are FDA approved (for example, metformin) and naturally occurring AMPK activators (such as resveratrol, found in red wine).
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