Axovant Sciences

Axovant Sciences, Ltd. is a Bermuda-based public company which develops pharmaceutical drugs for dementia.[1] Axovant intends to develop a pipeline of product candidates to address the cognitive, functional and behavioral components of dementia and related neurological disorders.[2]

The company's initial public offering in 2015 was thought at the time to be the highest grossing ever in the biotechnology industry.[3] Axovant trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "AXON".[4]

The founder of Axovant is Vivek Ramaswamy, a former hedge-fund manager.[3][5] Ramaswamy had previously founded Roivant Sciences in May 2014, then created Axovant as a spin-off company from Roivant in October.[3][5] As of 2015, Roivant retained a 75% ownership stake in Axovant.[2]

Axovant's Chief Development Officer is Dr. Lawrence Friedhoff, who previously led the development and approval of Aricept (donepezil), the most widely used drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.[6][7]

Pipeline

The company's lead product candidate in development is RVT-101, an add-on treatment to donepezil for Alzheimer's disease and for dementia with Lewy bodies.[1][5][8] Axovant acquired this drug candidate (previously known as SB-742457) from GlaxoSmithKline in December 2014 for US$5 million, milestone payments if the drug reaches market, and a proportion of sales.[3][9] RVT-101 is currently in Phase 3 clinical studies for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.[10]

In October 2015, Axovant acquired global rights to nelotanserin from its parent company, Roivant Sciences, which had previously bought those rights from Arena Pharmaceuticals.[2][8] Axovant plans to study nelotanserin for the treatment of visual hallucinations in patients with Lewy body dementia and a condition known as rapid eye movement (REM) behavior disorder in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies.[8][11][12]

References

  1. 1 2 Staff (12 Jun 2015). "Axovant doubles in value after $315M IPO". Pharmaceutical Processing. Associated Press.
  2. 1 2 3 "10-Q". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Pollack, Andrew (11 Jun 2015). "Shares of Axovant, Alzheimer’s Drug Developer, Surge on Trading Debut". New York Times.
  4. ↑ "AXON Stock News - Axovant Sciences Stock". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved 12 Jun 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Karerat, Raif (12 Jun 2015). "Axovant Sciences founded by Indian American Vivek Ramaswamy has biggest US biotech IPO". The American Bazaar (Germantown, Maryland: Global Media Holding).
  6. ↑ "Interview with Lawrence Friedhoff of Axovant Sciences - Journal for Clinical Studies". Journal for Clinical Studies. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Pauline (24 July 2015). "Investigational Drug Added to Donepezil Shows Promise in AD". MedScape. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  8. 1 2 3 Crow, David (2015-11-02). "Axovant prepares to start pair of dementia drugs trials". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  9. ↑ House, Douglas W. (5 Jun 2015). "Axovant Sciences on deck for IPO". Seeking Alpha.
  10. ↑ "Study Evaluating RVT-101 in Subjects With Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease on Donepezil Treatment: MINDSET Study - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov". clinicaltrials.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  11. ↑ "Study Evaluating Nelotanserin for Treatment of Visual Hallucinations in Subjects With Lewy Body Dementia - No Study Results Posted - ClinicalTrials.gov". www.clinicaltrials.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  12. ↑ Al-Shamma, Hussien A.; Anderson, Christen; Chuang, Emil; Luthringer, Remy; Grottick, Andrew J.; Hauser, Erin; Morgan, Michael; Shanahan, William; Teegarden, Bradley R. (2010-01-01). "Nelotanserin, a novel selective human 5-hydroxytryptamine2A inverse agonist for the treatment of insomnia". The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 332 (1): 281–290. doi:10.1124/jpet.109.160994. ISSN 1521-0103. PMID 19841476.

Further reading

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