Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Competitors Form Partnership to Develop Autism Drugs


NY Times (June 19, 2012) Two of the front-runners in the race to develop drugs to treat mental retardation and autism are joining forces, hoping to save money and get to the market sooner.

A deal, expected to be announced on Tuesday, will pool the resources of Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, and Seaside Therapeutics, a private 30-employee company based in Cambridge, Mass.

“This deal will establish the biggest effort to date” in autism drugs, Luca Santarelli, head of neuroscience for Roche, said before the announcement. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

There is rising excitement that drugs might be able to relieve some of the behavioral problems associated with autism and in particular a cause of autism and mental retardation known as fragile X syndrome. About 100,000 Americans have fragile X syndrome.

Some parents of children being treated with new drugs in clinical trials have said they see positive changes in behavior.

Becky Zorovic of Sharon, Mass., said that when she used to take her son Anders, who has fragile X, to the dentist, she would have to lie in the chair and hold him on top of her as he screamed.

But after Anders starting taking Seaside’s drug, arbaclofen, in a clinical trial, she said, “He sat in the chair by himself and he opened his mouth and let the dentist polish his teeth and even scrape his teeth.” Anders has also has gone to birthday parties, which he once refused to do, she said.

To read the entire article on Autism drug development, please click on the above title.

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