Karuna Receives $8 Million Wellcome Trust Award To Advance First-In-Class Phase 2 Clinical Program In Schizophrenia

PureTech Health plc affiliate Karuna Pharmaceuticals (Karuna) recently announced it has been awarded an $8 million trust award from charitable foundation Wellcome. The funds will go toward advancing the clinical development of KarXT, Karuna’s lead program.

KarXT is a clinical stage program targeting the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors composed of trospium chloride and xanomeline, which has demonstrated efficacy in placebo-controlled human trials in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. The company anticipates that by further developing KarXT, it can potentially improve positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms associated with schizophrenia, and without the debilitating side effects of existing therapies.

Karuna is . . .