Mavoglurant (developmental code name AFQ-056) is an experimental drug candidate for the treatment of

fragile X syndrome Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder. The average IQ in males with FXS is under 55, while affected females tend to be in the borderline to normal range, typically around 70–85. Physical features may include a lo ...

and other conditions. It exerts its effect as an

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 is an excitatory Gq-coupled G protein-coupled receptor predominantly expressed on the postsynaptic sites of neurons. In humans, it is encoded by the ''GRM5'' gene. Function The amino acid L-glutamate is t ...

(mGluR₅). Mavoglurant was under

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical company, pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by re ...

and reached phase II and phase III clinical trials. Phase IIb/III dose finding and evaluation trials for fragile X-syndrome were discontinued by the end of 2014. Otherwise, it would have been the first drug to treat the underlying disorder instead of the symptoms of

. Mavoglurant was also in phase II clinical trials for

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) is a form of dyskinesia associated with levodopa (l-DOPA), used to treat Parkinson's disease. It often involves hyperkinetic movements, including chorea, dystonia, and athetosis. In the context of Parkinson's di ...

. In 2007, Norvartis had conducted a clinical study to assess its ability of reducing cigarette smoking, but no results had been published up till now. Novartis was conducting a clinical trial with this drug on

obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts (an ''obsession'') and feels the need to perform certain routines (''Compulsive behavior, compulsions'') repeatedly to relieve the dis ...

. Novartis discontinued development of mavoglurant for fragile X syndrome in April 2014 following disappointing trial results. Development was discontinued for other indications by 2017. Recently, Stalicla, a biotech company applying artificial intelligence to identify subgroups of high-responder patients, acquired worldwide rights from Novartis to progress the drug for substance-use and neurodevelopmental disorders.

References

Tertiary alcohols Alkyne derivatives Carbamates Methyl esters MGlu5 receptor antagonists {{Nervous-system-drug-stub

See also

References