Although it is in the midst of a protracted effort to obtain US Food and Drug Administration approval for its investigational mitochondrial stress blocker AMX0035 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. also is looking to expand its pipeline of neurodegenerative disease candidates. The Cambridge, MA-based firm unveiled a two-year research agreement with Canada’s Sunnybrook Research Institute on 18 July to expedite the identification of novel candidates that inhibit Bax and Bak proteins.
The work will center on a theory that the two proteins play a critical role in the pathways of cell death and axonal degeneration, the partners said. The research will seek Bax and Bak inhibitors of high potency, specificity and optimal pharmacokinetics for use in neurodegenerative disease, particularly ALS
