Vistagen Presents New Fasedienol (PH94B) Research at 2023 Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference
Results from new study further support that fasedienol acts locally in the nasal passages and does not require systemic uptake or direct activity on neurons in the brain to achieve fast-acting anti-anxiety effects
In the study, cells were extracted from the epithelial lining of the dorsal nasal septum of each nasal passage in healthy adult volunteers. Results from incubation of fasedienol with human nasal epithelial cells show that it is progressively metabolized and cleared from the nasal passages by P450-CYP enzymes expressed in nasal epithelial cells, including chemosensory cells, after intranasal spray administration.
“The results of this study provide further evidence to support our belief that fasedienol activates nasal-amygdala neural circuits acting locally on nasal receptors and does not require systemic uptake or direct activity on neurons in the brain to achieve rapid-onset anti-anxiety effects,” said Dr.
About Fasedienol (PH94B)
Vistagen’s fasedienol (PH94B) is a first-in-class, rapid-onset investigational pherine nasal spray with a novel proposed mechanism of action (MOA) that regulates the olfactory-amygdala neural circuits of fear and anxiety and attenuates the tone of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system, without systemic distribution, potentiation of GABA-A receptors or direct activity on neurons in the brain. Vistagen is developing fasedienol in a Phase 3 program for the treatment of social anxiety disorder. Designed for intranasal administration in low microgram doses, the proposed novel MOA of fasedienol is fundamentally differentiated from all currently approved anti-anxiety medications, including all antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
About Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) affects an estimated 25 million Americans. A person with SAD feels intense, persistent symptoms of anxiety or fear in certain social situations, such as meeting new people, making comments in a business meeting, dating, being on a job interview, answering a question in class, or talking to a cashier in a store. Doing common, everyday things in front of people causes profound anxiety or fear of being embarrassed, evaluated, humiliated, judged, or rejected. SAD can get in the way of going to work, attending school, or doing a wide variety of things in a situation that is likely to involve interpersonal interaction. It can lead to avoidance and opportunity costs that can significantly impact a person's employment and social activities and can be very disruptive to their overall quality of life. SAD is commonly treated long-term with certain FDA-approved antidepressants, which have a slow onset of effect (several weeks) and provide limited therapeutic benefits, and with benzodiazepines, which are not FDA-approved for treating SAD. Both antidepressants and benzodiazepines have known side effects and significant safety concerns that may make them unattractive to individuals affected by SAD.
About Vistagen
Vistagen (Nasdaq: VTGN) is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment landscape for individuals living with anxiety, depression and other CNS disorders. Vistagen is advancing therapeutics with the potential to be faster-acting, and with fewer side effects and safety concerns, than those that are currently available for treatment of anxiety, depression and multiple CNS disorders. Vistagen’s pipeline includes six product candidates, including fasedienol (PH94B), itruvone (PH10) and three additional investigational agents belonging to a new class of drugs known as pherines, in addition to AV-101, which is an oral antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). Pherines, which are administered as nasal sprays, are designed with a novel rapid-onset mechanism of action that activates chemosensory neurons in the nasal passages and can beneficially impact key neural circuits in the brain without systemic uptake or direct activity on CNS neurons in the brain. Vistagen is passionate about transforming mental health care and redefining what is possible in the treatment of anxiety, depression and several other CNS disorders. Connect at www.Vistagen.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks that are difficult to predict and include all matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “project,” “outlook,” “strategy,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “strive,” “goal,” “continue,” “likely,” “will,” “would” and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Vistagen and its management, are inherently uncertain. As with all pharmaceutical products, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in the process of development and commercialization and actual results or development may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Among other things, there can be no guarantee that any of the Company’s drug candidates will successfully complete ongoing or future clinical trials, receive regulatory approval or be commercially successful. Other factors that may cause such a difference include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties relating to the Company’s ability to secure adequate financing for its operations, including financing or collaborative support for continued clinical development of fasedienol (PH94B) and/or its other product candidates; the completion and results of the Company’s ongoing clinical studies of itruvone (PH10) and AV-101; other risks and uncertainties related to delays in launching, conducting and/or completing ongoing and planned clinical trials; the scope and enforceability of the Company’s patents; fluctuating costs of materials and other resources and services required to conduct the Company’s ongoing and/or planned clinical and non-clinical trials; market conditions; the impact of general economic, industry or political conditions in
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Source: Vistagen