BioCentury
ARTICLE | Clinical News

Tetra candidate backed by NIH's Blueprint enters clinic

December 31, 2015 1:33 AM UTC

Tetra Discovery Partners LLC (Grand Rapids, Mich.) began Phase I testing of BPN14770, the first candidate funded by NIH's Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network (BPN) to reach the clinic. The negative allosteric modulator of phosphodiesterase-4D ( PDE-4D) is in development to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other cognitive disorders.

In 2012, BPN granted Tetra up to $1.5 million to develop PDE-4 inhibitors to treat mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and provided the company with up to $10 million in contract research services. NIH established BPN in 2009 to speed discovery and development of neurology therapeutics (see BioCentury, Sept. 10, 2012). ...