Gabriel Sciences Receives NIH SBIR Grant For Development Of Antidepressant

Main Category: Depression
Article Date: 16 Jan 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Gabriel Sciences, a Maryland biotech company founded by David Pickar MD, enters into a collaborative project, "Triple Re-Uptake Inhibitors: Potential Antidepressants." Candidate compounds synthesized by the research team of Professor Paul Carlier PhD at Virginia Tech, and tested by the research team of Professor Elliott Richelson MD at Mayo Clinic, show activity in preclinical tests that are predictive of antidepressant activity in humans. The grant will allow the selection of a lead compound to continue into preclinical toxicology testing for initial studies in humans. These potential antidepressant compounds have a novel mechanism of action - blockade of transporters for the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. This novel "triple reuptake blockade" approach holds promise for a more effective and rapidly-acting antidepressant.

"This award is an example of the promising collaborative opportunities that can be developed between the biotech industry and academic medicine through the NIH SBIR or STTR mechanisms. Gabriel Sciences [Primary Awardee] brings agile drug development abilities to pioneering science from Mayo Clinic [Subawardee]," notes David Pickar MD, President of Gabriel Sciences and Principal Investigator for the grant. Dr. Richelson serves as the Mayo Clinic Investigator for this Grant.

About Gabriel Sciences

Gabriel Sciences (formerly Gabriel Pharma) is a biotech company with the mission to advance treatment and understanding of mental illness through its translational research, including collaborative opportunities with academic medicine. David Pickar MD, founder, is former Chief of the Experimental Therapeutics Branch at National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) with current adjunct appointments as Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. Gabriel Sciences is the recipient of NIH SBIR Phase I and Phase II grants for the development of a clinical DNA database enabling predictors of antipsychotic drug response. The current antidepressant program, which is a collaborative project, adds to Gabriel Sciences' portfolio of drug development for the treatment of mental illness.

Gabriel Sciences

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