Bangalore: Advinus Therapeutics, a Bangalore-based drug discovery and development company, and P2D Bioscience, a CNS-focused specialty pharmaceutical company have initiated a research and development collaboration to develop therapies for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Dr Rashmi Barbhaiya, CEO and MD of Advinus, said, "Academic institutions and their spin-off biotech companies are beginning to play increasingly important role in discovering innovative drug candidates and at the same time will continue to depend on partners to develop these assets. The P2D ADHD program is a classical example of value Advinus provides to such institutions and benefits it derives from such collaborations. We are delighted to establish this exemplary and synergistic relationship with P2D."

The ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children, with symptoms continuing into adulthood in up to 50 percent of cases. Recent estimates show that approximately 4.7 percent of American adults live with ADHD. These estimates worldwide are influenced by diagnostic tools as evidenced by the apparent prevalence rate in the US growing from 12 per 1,000 children in the 1970s to 34 per 1,000 in the 1990s.

"P2D has been active in partnering with Indian pharmaceutical development companies for the past several years" said Dr Frank Zemlan, CEO and chairman of P2D Bioscience. "Advinus was identified by our Indian-based team as the premier pre-clinical and early-stage clinical development company in southeast Asia. P2D partnered with Advinus because of their drug development expertise and experience. We are honored to be selected as one of Advinus' drug development partners for their risk/reward sharing program which has accelerated the development of our early stage drug candidates."

Timely diagnosis and treatment of ADHD results in the significant reduction in clinical symptoms, however, not all individuals respond to current ADHD medications. Further, current ADHD medications have significant side effects. P2D and Advinus are co-developing a new class of ADHD treatments. These drugs demonstrate increased efficacy due to their higher affinity for the target receptor as well as improved safety due to enhanced selectivity.