Epilepsy Franchise

                 Epilepsy affects about more than 60 million people worldwide. More than 40% patients become resistant to treatments during their disease course, leading to distressing increase in seizures despite receiving two or more approved drug treatments.  This is called pharmacoresistance.  Approximately 20% of patients with primary generalized epilepsy and up to 60% of patients with focal epilepsy develop pharmacoresistance.

Rare genetic diseases with pharmacoresistant epilepsy such as Dravet Syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and can be treated with serotoninergic drugs, but often these drugs have serious side effects related to non-specific action the 5-HT2B receptor requiring close monitoring and limitations on dosing.

                 Several approved drugs like carbamazepine and valproate increase local concentrations of serotonin in the brain, and may control seizures in part by this mechanism.  Serotonin agonists have the potential to control seizures in neurons and also promote neuronal survival by accelerating the recovery of mitochondrial function after seizures, and protect the brain.

Bright Minds Biosciences, has a unique pipeline of 5-HT2C agonists being evaluated for the treatment of epilepsy, and testing is underway in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health to determine the best compound for treatment of epilepsy