Preclinical data reveal ongoing progress of lead assets and discovery platform as the company prepares to enter the clinic in early 2025

BOSTON, Oct. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sensorium Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel, first-in-class medicines to treat a variety of CNS diseases, announced it presented positive preclinical data on lead programs SENS-01, a novel highly selective fast-acting anxiolytic for the treatment of anxiety disorders, and SENS-03, a novel chemical entity with a differentiated mechanism of action to address focal onset seizures for drug-resistant epilepsy patients, at Neuroscience 2024. The company also shared details on the differentiated capabilities of its Biodynamic Discovery Platform at the conference held this week in Chicago.

The findings validate Sensorium's de-risked drug development approach, which leverages medicinal chemistry, advanced neuronal screening models, and machine learning to yield novel first-in class CNS medicines inspired by natural compounds and backed by proven human efficacy and safety data.

"These data underscore the potential of our unique drug discovery strategy to develop breakthrough CNS medicines as we prepare to enter the clinic early next year," said Alexandra Glucksmann, PhD, CEO of Sensorium. "They build on the existing value of our first-in-class-programs with potential to address areas of critical unmet need."

With a defined mechanism of action and precision pharmacology differentiated from current standard of care, the SENS-01 program comprises a novel molecule—a synthetic derivative of a natural compound with proven human validation as a fast onset anxiolytic— that has demonstrated excellent CNS drug-like properties with a clean safety profile and in vivo efficacy in multiple models. SENS-01 is currently completing IND-enabling studies, with plans to enter the clinic in early 2025.

Sensorium is also rapidly advancing its SENS-03 program to address both seizures as well as comorbid anxiety, which is present in 80% drug-resistant patients living with epilepsy. This novel molecule shows efficacy in multiple validated seizure models as well as preclinical anxiety models. With a differentiated mechanism of action from the current standard of care, the SENS-03 program is well positioned to declare a development candidate in early 2025.

Sensorium's Neuroscience 2024 poster presentation details are as follows:
SNTX-AXN, A Novel Fast-Acting Anxiolytic Discovered and Developed from Sensorium's AI-Driven Product Engine
Presented by: Jeffrey Brown, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer
Poster number: PSTR417.21
Key findings:

• Sensorium's development candidate for anxiety disorders is a small molecule synthetic derivative inspired from a natural compound with human validation as a fast-onset anxiolytic and a differentiated pharmacology from standard of care.
• Both in vitro and in vivo data confirm the rapid onset anxiolytic effects reported in humans with the parent natural compound.
• IND-enabling safety studies confirm a clean safety profile, consistent with its unique selectivity to a clinically and commercially validated target.
• Ph1 studies are designed to determine safety, early efficacy readouts, and target engagement using a well-validated clinical biomarker.

Sensorium's SENS-AI Platform Identified and Advanced a Novel Therapeutic for Treatment of Epilepsy with Co-Morbid Anxiety
Presented by Jeffrey Brown, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer
Poster number: PSTR056.22
Key findings:

• Sensorium's AI-Driven Product Engine identified a natural compound with human validation of both an anxiolytic and anti-epileptic properties.
• Preclinical data confirm human efficacy data and highlight a mechanism of action differentiated from standard of care.
• Chemical optimization of the natural compound led to novel synthetic derivatives which maintain the efficacy of the natural compound but improved its CNS-drug like properties.

A Discovery Platform for Phenotypic Characterization of Natural Products in IPSC-Derived and Primary Neuronal Models
Presented by: Monica Carrasco, PhD, Scientist II, Preclinical Discovery
Alex Lobo, Sr. Research Associate, Preclinical Discovery
Abriel Markowitz, Sr. Research Associate, Preclinical Discovery
Poster number: PSTR375.06
Key findings:

• Sensorium has created the most advanced and comprehensive integrated ethnopharmacological knowledge graph to discover molecules with proven human efficacy.
• Novel cellular models leveraging integrated human iPSC-derived and rodent primary neural systems define differentiation and novel pharmacology for compounds.
• Data generated provide a closed-loop system to advance novel drug classifiers and deliver mechanistic insight for novel pipeline compounds currently being advanced.

About Sensorium Therapeutics
Sensorium Therapeutics is embracing the complexity of nature and the human brain to bring forth modern medicines to improve the lives of patients with CNS diseases. The company's groundbreaking Biodynamic Discovery Platform combines advanced technologies across chemistry, neuroscience, and machine learning to develop neuropsychiatric drugs inspired by plant-based compounds with evidence of human efficacy. Sensorium's lead asset, SENS-01, is a novel, rapid-acting agent for the treatment of anxiety disorders. For more information, visit .

SOURCE Sensorium Therapeutics