Publicly traded biotech VistaGen Therapeutics Inc., which is focused drug development for diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS) and mental health conditions, hopes to make space in the depression market for its lead compound AV-101, a ketamine-like asset that could bypass side effect issues seen with other therapeutic approaches to depression.
VistaGen acquired AV-101 when it purchased the preclinical-stage drug developer Artemis Neuroscience in 2003. “Our whole approach has been to have a ketamine-like asset, but one that is chemically different from ketamine