Biohaven starts dosing patients in first clinical trial of BHV-4157

US-based biopharmaceutical company Biohaven has initiated dosing the first patient in its initial clinical trial of BHV-4157.

BHV-4157 is a pro-drug form involving the modulation of the glutamate system, which is considered as the most important neurotransmitters in the brain and present in more than 90% of all brain synapses.

The clinical trial has been designed to determine the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics profile of BHV-4157 administered in single and multiple ascending doses.

Biohaven CEO Dr Vlad Coric said: “Reaching this step in the clinical development process is a very exciting moment for Biohaven and brings us one step closer to our ultimate goal of testing BHV-4157 for efficacy in patent populations.

“Our first dosing in this pharmacokinetic study represents the culmination of many years of chemistry discovery work and pre-clinical studies that are required to safely begin dosing a NCE in clinical trials.

“We continue to remain on track to begin our phase III registrational trial in SCA over the coming months.”

Biohaven’s new chemical entity (NCE), BHV-4157 modulates glutamate neurotransmission, which is believed to possess therapeutic potential in treating a range of disease states such as glutamate dysfunction, including ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, Rett syndrome, dementia, dystonia and tinnitus.

BHV-4157 is also designed to treat affective disorders such as major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders.