PH10 is an investigational pherine nasal spray with potential to be a fast-acting stand-alone treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) and several other neuropsychiatric indications involving depression. PH10 engages and activates nasal chemosensory cells in the nasal passages, connected to neural circuits in the brain that produce antidepressant effects. Specifically, PH10’s proposed MOA involves binding to peripheral chemosensory neurons in the nasal passages to regulate the olfactory-amygdala neural circuits believed to increase activity of the limbic-hypothalamic sympathetic nervous system and increase the release of catecholamines.

PH10 is designed to not require systemic uptake to produce its rapid-onset antidepressant effects. In a small randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled exploratory Phase 2A clinical study in major depressive disorder (MDD) conducted in Mexico City, at a 6.4 mcg dose, rapid-onset antidepressant effects were observed and sustained for 8 weeks (p=0.022), without psychological side effects or safety concerns associated with ketamine-based therapy. With its rapid-onset pharmacology and favorable safety results observed in clinical studies completed to date, we believe PH10 has potential to be a new stand-alone treatment for MDD and several other depression disorders.