CoCensys And Searle To Develop Novel Insomnia Drug

Searle has made an upfront payment of $10 million for copromotion and codevelopment rights to a new drug for insomnia developed by CoCensys. The agreement involves a $3 million licensing fee and a $7 million equity investment, while research funding and milestone payments over the six-year project could increase this to $80 million.

CCD 3693, which should enter clinical testing within the next 18 months, is a synthetic version of a class of compounds called epalons (epialopregnenolones), naturally-occurring neuroactive steroids that bind to specific receptors in the brain which are not targeted using currently-available hypnotic drugs.

CoCensys' compound has been designed to overcome some of the intrinsic limitations of epalons, such as rapid deactivation by the liver and interactions with other steroid receptors. Preclinical data suggests that CCD 3693 will provide better-quality sleep, with fewer side effects, than currently-available drugs.