– USA, MA – Newleos Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders, announced the appointment of Dr. Steve Brannan (M.D.) to its Board of Directors.
About Dr. Stephen Brannan
Dr. Steve Brannan is an expert in neuroscience and neuropsychiatric drug development with a proven track record of developing innovative medicines through regulatory approval and commercialization. Most recently, he served as CMO at Karuna Therapeutics, where he led the clinical strategy for KarXT, the first new mechanism of action for schizophrenia approved in over 30 years.
In addition to Karuna, Dr. Brannan has held senior roles in clinical development and medical affairs, including Therapeutic Head of Neuroscience at Takeda, VP for Clinical Research and Medical Affairs at Forum Pharmaceuticals, and senior roles at Novartis, Cyberonics, and Eli Lilly. He has been active in the development of multiple important CNS treatments, including Cymbalta, Exelon Patch, Trintellix, and VNS for treatment-resistant depression. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Brannan was a faculty member at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), specializing in mood and anxiety patient care, running a clinical research unit, and conducting neuroimaging research.
He trained in psychiatry at UTHSCSA and holds an M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas. He has over 60 publications and routinely speaks at industry conferences.
About NTX-1955
NTX-1955 is a first-in-class GABAA-γ1 positive allosteric modulator (PAM), originally discovered by Roche and now in development for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GABAA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and positive allosteric modulation of the GABAA receptor is a well-validated approach for managing GAD symptoms. Nonselective GABAA PAMs such as benzodiazepines, while robust anxiolytics, modulate GABAA receptors throughout the entire brain, including in brain regions that lead to cognitive and sedative side effects. In contrast, NTX-1955 is designed to selectively engage GABAergic transmission in the amygdala, which is at the center of the brain’s regulation of anxiety and highly enriched for the GABAA-γ1 receptor subunit, thereby sparing brain networks associated with the safety liabilities of benzodiazepines.
NTX-1955 has shown dose-dependent anxiolytic activity in several gold-standard preclinical anxiety models, matching benzodiazepines’ efficacy without the side effect profile seen with classical benzodiazepines. Further, NTX-1955 has completed multiple Phase 1 studies, including Single Ascending Dose, Multiple Ascending Dose, drug-drug interaction, and receptor occupancy studies, demonstrating that it is safe, well tolerated, brain penetrant, and selective to GABAA-γ1.
About Newleos Therapeutics, Inc.
Newleos Therapeutics is dedicated to providing a new dawn or “eos” for the one in every eight people around the world who are suffering from mental illness. The company’s pipeline was licensed from Roche and focuses on innovative neuropsychiatric mechanisms of action that aim to reduce side effects and improve outcomes compared to the current standard of care. Newleos’ clinical-stage, oral small molecules target GABAA-γ1, V1a, TAAR1, and GABAA-α5, with first- or best-in-class potential in the treatment of general anxiety, social anxiety, substance use disorders, and cognitive impairment. Newleos was co-founded by Longwood Fund, Federico Bolognani, M.D., Ph.D., and William Martin, Ph.D., seasoned experts in company creation and CNS drug development.
For more information: https://newleos.com/
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