Chakra Biotech News

August 2007 – Tikvah Therapeutics, Inc. and Chakra Biotech Pte. Ltd. Establish Collaboration to Accelerate the Development of Novel Antipsychotic Compounds
Atlanta, GA and Singapore, September 4, 2007 – Tikvah Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on new treatment options to better manage central nervous system diseases, and Chakra Biotech Pte. Ltd., a drug discovery and development company focusing on central nervous system disorders, today announced a collaboration and option agreement designed to advance and accelerate the development of four compounds targeted at a broad range of psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder from Chakra Biotech Pte. Ltd.’s developmental pipeline. These compounds have shown robustly positive results in the chakragati (ckr) mouse model, a patented transgenic mouse model for dopamine dysfunction that has been validated as a model for screening antipsychotic compounds. Press Release.

December 2006 – CB030006 Demonstrates Novel Antipsychotic Mechanism of Action
Binding studies on CB030006, Chakra Biotech’s lead antipsychotic compound point to a novel binding profile. In vitro binding studies performed by a global CRO combined with the efficacy shown in vivo in the patented ckr mouse model point to CB03006 as a broad spectrum psychosis treatment for indications including schizophrenia, depression, addiction and mood disorders. Binding studies covered dopamine (D1, D2s, D2l, D3, D4); serotonin (5HT1A, 5HT2A, 5HT2C), dopamine transporter (DAT) and serotonin transporter (SERT). Percentage inhibition assays indicate a novel mechanism of action for CB030006 with highest activity at 5HT2A and 5HT2C with modest activity at DAT, SERT and low activity at D2 receptors.

November 2006 – Formation of Scientific Advisory Board Completed
Chakra Biotech Chief Scientific Architect, Dr Anil K. Ratty is pleased to announce the completion of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). "The quality of our SAB is testament to the scientific interest in our intellectual property. This diverse group will be a strong guiding force for Chakra Biotech." The SAB includes a range of leading scientist and entrepreneurs from around the world. (For a full list of the SAB Members please download the Business Plan).

October 2006 – Formation of Chakra Biotech Board Completed
Chakra Biotech Pte Ltd (Chakra) is pleased to announce the addition of two new Directors to our Board. Anthony Bishop joined Chakra as CEO in May and is now formally added to the board as an Executive Director. Anthony has a strong background in drug development and business development. Mustaza is the Singapore Representative of the First Gulf Bank of Abu Dhabi and brings strong financial acumen and contacts to Chakra. Anthony and Mustaza join Dr Anil Ratty, Founder and Chief Scientific Architect and Harish Pillay, Chief Technology Officer Red Hat on the Chakra Board.

May 2006 – License Agreement signed with University of Buffalo
Chakra Biotech and the University of Buffalo have signed a worldwide exclusive license agreement for four classes of novel compounds. This agreement covers the development of the compounds in all therapeutic areas. “This agreement gives Chakra a wealth of compounds to screen. We have already had successful hits from our behavioural screening model and look forward to more as we screen more of the library,” said Anthony Bishop, CEO Chakra Biotech.

April 2006 – Chakra Biotech names Anthony Bishop as new CEO
Chakra Biotech Pte. Ltd. appointed Anthony Bishop as its new CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Bishop brings years of experience to Chakra from his clinical and drug development positions held at Quintiles East Asia and CSL Australia.

Published Articles:

1.    Dawe, G.S. & Ratty, A. K (2007) The chakragati mouse: A mouse model for rapid in vivo screening of antipsychotics drug candidates. Biotechnology Journal, November 2007 (to be published)

2.    Torres, G., Meeder, B.A., Hallas, B.H., Spernyak, J.A., Mazurchuk, R., Jones, C.A., Gross, K. W. and Horowitz, J.M. (2005) Ventricular size mapping in a transgenic model of schizophrenia. Dev. Brain Res., 154: 35-44

3.    Torres, G., Hallas, B.H., Vernace, V.A., Jones, C., Gross, K.W. and Horowitz, J.M. (2004) A neurobehavioural screening of the ckr mouse mutant: implications for an animal model of schizophrenia. Brain Res. Bull., 62: 315-326

4.    Smiraglia, D.J., Wu, C, Ellsworth, M.K., Ratty, A.K., Chapman, V.M. and Gross, K.W. (1997) Genetic characterisation of the chromosomal rearrangments that accompany the transgene insertion in the chakragati mouse mutant. Genomics 45: 572-579.

5.    Smiraglia, D.J., Ratty, A.K. and Gross, K.W. (1997) Physical characterisation of the chromosomal rearrangements that accompany the transgene insertion in the chakragati mouse mutant. Genomics 45:562-571.

6.    Ratty, A.K., Gross, K.W., Fitzgerald, L.W. & Glick, S.D. (1994) The chakragati mouse: A model for brain dopaminergic dysfunction In Dopamine Receptors and Transporters (H.B. Niznik, ed) pp 493-509, Marcel Dekker, Inc.

7.    Fitzgerald, L.W., Ratty, A.K., Titeler, M., Gross, K.W. & Glick, S.D. (1993) Specificity of behavioral and neurochemical dysfunction in the chakragati mouse: A novel genetic model of a movement disorder. Brain Research, 608: 247-258.

8.    Fitzgerald, L.W., Miller, K., Ratty, A.K., Glick, S.D., Titeler, M. & Gross, K.W. (1992) Asymmetric elevation of striatal dopamine D2 receptors in the chakragati mouse: Neurobehavioral dysfunction in a transgenic insertional mutant. Brain Research 580: 18-26.

9.    Ratty, A.K., Eddy, R., Shows, T.B. & Gross, K. (1992) Mapping of the mouse anonymous DNA fragment, D16Ros2, to human chromosome 3. Mammalian Genome 3: 46-47.

10.    Ratty, A.K., Matsuda, Y., Elliott, R., Chapman, V. & Gross, K. (1992) Genetic mapping of two DNA markers, D16Ros1 and D16Ros2, flanking the mutation site in the chakragati mouse, a transgenic insertional mutant. Mammalian Genome 3: 5-10.

11.    Fitzgerald, L.W., Ratty, A.K., Miller, K., Ellsworth, M.K., Glick, S.D. & Gross, K.W. (1991) The ontogeny of hyperactivity and circling behavior in a transgenic insertional mouse mutant. Behavioral Neuroscience 105: 753-761.

12.    Ratty, A.K., Fitzgerald, L.W., Titeler, M., Glick, S.D., Mullins, J.J. & Gross, K.W. (1990) Circling behavior exhibited by a transgenic insertional mutant. Mol. Brain Res. 8: 355-358.

Other Sources of Information

About Schizophrenia: Information, articles, answers can be found here.
www.psychiatry24x7.com

About the schizophrenia industry:
www.decisionresources.com