Alte Biosciences, a Cary-based drug development company, secured exclusive rights to intellectual property developed at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham to create novel therapeutics targeting late-onset depression and related disorders.
The licensed technology is a patent based on findings by Dr. Ranga Krishnan on the relationship between cerebrovascular disease and the onset of depression in elderly individuals. Dr. Krishnan is Professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center, and a leading clinician in treating refractory depression and anxiety disorders.
Alte Biosciences will conduct the necessary regulatory studies needed to move its lead candidate, ARX-111, into a clinical proof of concept study within the next 12 months, said Dr. Thomas Colatsky, the company chief scientific officer.
"The agreement with Duke University enables us to develop novel therapeutics that target an important underlying cause of depression in older patients: cerebral ischemia," he said.