Psylin Neurosciences Commences Development of Compound for ...( SAN DIEGO April 20 /- Psylin Neuros...)

SAN DIEGO, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Psylin Neurosciences Inc., a joint venture biotechnology company spun out of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and PsychoGenics, Inc. announced today that it has initiated IND-enabling development of a novel compound, PSN0041, for the treatment of depression.

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PSN0041, a peptide from Amylin's proprietary polypeptide hormone library, PHORMOL, was identified as having utility in depression after screening it in PsychoGenics' proprietary, drug discovery technologies. Not only has PSN0041 shown effects in multiple preclinical tests of depression, but also in preclinical tests of anxiety. The peptide has several anticipated advantages over current antidepressant medications including cognitive enhancement, weight loss, a lack of sexual side effects, and an enhanced safety and side effect profile. Psylin's primary aim is to advance PSN0041 rapidly through early clinical development.

"The selection of PSN0041 as a clinical candidate for depression is an important milestone for Psylin. We believe that PSN0041 validates the utility of peptides in this therapeutic arena," said Mark Gergen, Co-CEO of Psylin and Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Amylin. "It also supports Amylin's belief that value can be derived from PHORMOL in areas outside of Amylin's core focus on diabetes and obesity therapies."

"PsychoGenics and Amylin formed Psylin in 2007 and in just two years identified PSN0041. The productivity of the partnership is the direct result of the good working relationship between both companies, the quality of Amylin's PHORMOL library, and the predictive power of PsychoGenics' proprietary, high throughput,
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