Concert Pharmaceuticals proclaims facilitation of Candidate CTP-692 in Schizophrenia

Concert Pharmaceuticals asserted the next development candidate CTP-692, a novel drug for adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia, a devastating, chronic illness with significant unmet need. CTP-692 is a deuterated form of D-serine, an endogenous, required co-agonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. NMDA receptor hypofunction is believed to contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and enhancement of D-serine levels is believed to benefit individuals with schizophrenia. CTP-692 is being developed as a potential adjunctive therapy to antipsychotic medicines with the potential to improve positive and negative symptoms as well as cognitive function in these patients.

Roger Tung, Ph.D., President and CEO of Concert Pharmaceuticals said “Our newest development candidate, CTP-692, represents an exciting opportunity to improve upon the existing standard-of-care with the potential to make a meaningful difference for patients with schizophrenia.”

CTP-692 has the potential to improve the safety profile of D-serine. In preclinical evaluation, Concert found that selective deuterium modification increased D-serine exposure and substantially reduced evidence of renal impairment. As a result, the Company believes that it can explore a wider exposure range to achieve optimal therapeutic levels in the clinic with a much lower risk of renal toxicity. These results support the further advancement of CTP-692