Benzinga | Sep 22, 2021 08:06AM EDT

Cyclerion Therapeutics Highlights Publication Of Preclinical Data Showing Reduction In Neuroinflammation By Brain-Penetrant Soluble Guanlyate Cyclase Stimulator

Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYCN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments that restore cognitive function, today announced a publication demonstrating that administration of a small molecule soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator reduced markers associated with neuroinflammation in multiple preclinical models. Neuroinflammation is a hallmark of numerous CNS diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, and targeting this pathology is a promising drug development strategy.

In preclinical research published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, a small molecule sGC stimulator was shown to cross the blood-brain barrier and resulted in the stimulation of cGMP levels in cerebral spinal fluid, providing evidence of activation of the nitric oxide -- sGC -- cGMP pathway. Furthermore, pharmacological sGC stimulation resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the expression of several inflammatory genes, including TNF, CD40, Icam1, Cybb, and GFAP, in rodent models. These data suggest that CNS penetrant sGC stimulators, such as Cyclerion development candidates CY6463 and CY3018, could provide therapeutic benefit to individuals living with CNS diseases associated with neuroinflammation.

"This research extends our understanding of the pharmacology of brain-penetrant sGC stimulation and provides further support for the potential of our investigational therapeutics to treat CNS diseases. These new preclinical data demonstrate that our approach is able to reduce neuroinflammation, which is widely considered to be a core contributor of many serious CNS diseases, including Alzheimer's disease," said Chris Winrow, Ph.D. Study Author and Head of Translational Medicine, Cyclerion Therapeutics. "A body of preclinical and clinical data supports the development of CY6463 and CY3018, our brain-penetrant sGC stimulators, and administration of CY6463 has been shown to result in positive clinical effects on multiple measures of brain neurophysiology. We are eager to advance our ongoing CY6463 clinical studies to meaningful data readouts to more fully understand the potential to provide individuals living with CNS diseases with a meaningful clinical benefit."