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How Cerecor's forebrain-specific GRIA antagonist sidelines GRIA's side effects

December 15, 2016 8:19 PM UTC

Cerecor Inc. (NASDAQ:CERC) has picked up a forebrain-selective anti-epileptic compound from Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) that could treat seizures by blocking AMPA glutamate receptor (GRIA; GLUR) without the dose-limiting motor side effects associated with that target.

Cerecor added CERC-611 - formerly LY3130418 - to its arsenal of neurological programs in an October deal with Lilly. Last month in Nature Medicine, Lilly researchers reported the compound antagonizes GRIA activity in the brain regions most relevant to epileptic seizures, while avoiding motor-impairing side effects...