BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

TorreyPines neurology, other news

February 18, 2008 8:00 AM UTC

TorreyPines reduced headcount by about 10 (23%) to 33 as a result of the Feb. 28, 2008 expiration of a 2005 deal with Eisai Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4523; Osaka:4523, Tokyo, Japan) to discover therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease (AD) (see BioCentury, March 21, 2005 & Feb. 26, 2007). President and CEO Neil Kurtz will replace Michael Murphy as CMO, who will depart at the end of the month.

The company's lead compound is tezampanel, an AMPA/ kainate receptor antagonist that has completed Phase II testing to treat acute migraine and is expected to start a Phase II trial to treat muscle spasticity and rigidity secondary to spinal cord trauma next half. TorreyPines plans to start a Phase II trial of NGX267, a cholinergenic muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M1 (CHRM1)(HM1) agonist, in xerostomia this half. ...