BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Son of Dimebon

July 29, 2010 7:00 AM UTC

When Medivation Inc.'s Dimebon latrepirdine failed in a Phase III trial in Alzheimer's disease, it came as no surprise to skeptics of the compound who had long doubted the generic antihistamine, for which a mechanism of action could not be identified in AD. But now, in a quest for small molecule neurogenesis stimulators, researchers at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have identified a compound that has a structure and neuroprotective function surprisingly similar to those of Dimebon.1

The new molecule, P7C3, is more potent than Dimebon and could be a starting point for the design of stronger molecules. The research also begins to offer new clues on how these molecules may work...