Clinical-stage biotech specialising in mental health and neuroscience, Emyria Limited (ASX: EMD, has expanded its MDMA analogue library, in partnership with the University of Western Australia (UWA) to over novel 150 compounds.
This milestone follows Emyria’s encouraging progress in its preclinical MDMA-inspired drug discovery programme and the recent approval of MDMA as a controlled medicine by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) from July 1st 2023.
MDMA, a small yet stable molecule, easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and interacts with the three primary neurotransmitters: serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline. By strategically modifying MDMA’s structure, Emyria and UWA have generated novel chemical entities with different neurological effects. These compounds have high patentability and the potential to address major unmet needs across mental health and neurological disease.
Key Objectives of the analogue programme include:
- Developing “faster-acting” MDMA for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. PTSD is a major unmet need with up to 50% of sufferers showing treatment resistance.Has demonstrated remarkable benefits for patients with PTSD in Phase 3 clinical trials with clinically significant improvement seen in 80% of patients. Speedier MDMA could shorten treatment sessions and increase the number of patients potentially benefiting from the therapy.
- Developing MDMA “without the high” for Parkinson’s patients experiencing L-DOPA treatment side effects (up to 80%). A large proportion of Parkinson’s patients will experience movement disorders related to use of L-DOPA – a common Parkinson’s medication. MDMA has been shown to improve those symptoms but carries unwanted side-effects. Emyria and UWA have developed novel MDMA analogues that maintain the therapeutic benefits while eliminating the euphoric “high” sensation.
The market potential for innovative MDMA analogues is large, as the demand for new treatments for challenging conditions like PTSD and Parkinson’s disease increases.
Emyria’s unique approach to MDMA-inspired drug discovery, alongside the company’s intentions to lead a specialist network providing MDMA-assisted therapy, positions the company at the forefront of working with MDMA to address critical medical needs.
Together with UWA, Emyria has now synthesised and shipped a fifth batch of 19 distinctive compounds, based on prior screening results, for preliminary screening with Eurofins. This addition brings the library’s total to over 150 compounds. The company anticipates selecting lead compounds for pre-IND enabling studies in the second half of 2023, as it advances its preclinical programme.
Emyria has secured exclusive rights to all MDMA-like compounds created under the partnership with the University of Western Australia, led by medicinal chemistry expert Dr. Matt Piggott. This collaboration enables Emyria to identify new chemical entities and drug candidates, solidifying the Company’s leading position in developing MDMA therapies for the rapidly evolving mental health and neuroscience market.
