Neuraxis Start-Up Seeks To Streamline CNS Drug R&D

There is no doubt that in this "Decade of the Brain" the central nervous system has risen to the top amongst therapeutic areas for drug discovery, with the world drug industry spending 19% of its R&D budget in this area. The CNS, more so than any other physiological system, has a bewildering array of potential molecular targets to choose from, and drug firms face a gargantuan task in selecting the winners from the losers.

Enter Neuraxis. This new UK start-up believes it can offer a unique approach to drug discovery in the CNS to pharmaceutical clients, by providing a range of human models of CNS diseases which can be used, in tandem with animal models and in vitro systems, to select the most viable candidates for entry into efficacy trials. The company is a joint venture between applied pharmacological research firm Medeval and Cerebrus, the UK-based neurosciences firm which was formed just a few months ago (Marketletter February 5), and remains one of only two neuroscience-focused biotechnology firms in Europe.

The JV combines Medeval's 13 years of clinical expertise with the preclinical and animal expertise of Cerebrus, and comes up with a combination not offered in a single package by any other firm worldwide, according to Neuraxis' chief executive Stephen Toon.