Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Bionomics' licensee, has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the FDA to begin IW-2143 clinical trial.
The trial will further evaluate pharmacokinetic profile of the anti-anxiety drug candidate in healthy volunteers.
Bionomics CEO and managing director Dr Deborah Rathjen said, "Ironwood has a strong team that has developed a thorough clinical development program for IW-2143."
Data from preclinical studies suggest that IW-2143 exhibits anti-anxiety activity and encourages neurite outgrowth under lab conditions.
Healthy volunteers who took part in a two arm phase I study did not demonstrate impaired attention after receiving IW-2143.
Electroencephalography (EEG) data collected from IW-2143 dosed subjects confirmed the pharmacodynamic effect.