The Week of

Gain Therapeutics announced positive results from a prespecified exploratory endpoint in its Phase 1b clinical study of GT-02287 – the company’s lead investigational drug being developed as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

In the trial, treatment with GT-02287 led to reduced levels of glucosylsphingosine (GluSph) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This is a biomarker that indicates increased activity of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase) in the brain, which is believed to play a role in the disease’s progression. 

All participants with elevated GluSph showed significant declines to levels observed in healthy individuals after 90 days of dosing, and the study’s safety profile remained generally well-tolerated at projected therapeutic exposures. About 79% of participants chose to continue in a planned nine-month extension of the trial, which is expected to be completed in late 2026. Here’s more: https://gaintherapeutics.com/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2025/gain-therapeutics-announces-positive-results-in-key-exploratory-endpoint-from-its-phase-1b-clinical-study-of-gt-02287-in-people-with-parkinsons-disease/

Biopharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced it will pay $80 million in cash to secure exclusive global rights to the clinical-stage antibody therapy ADEL-Y01, developed by Seoul-based biotech Adel. In return, Sanofi gains the rights to develop, commercialize, and scale the program worldwide (including related backup compounds), and earns royalties on any future sales.

ADEL-Y01 is designed to target a specific form of tau protein (acetylated at lysine-280), a key driver of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. The goal is not just to blunt the progression of dementia but to interrupt the harmful spread of toxic tau. while preserving normal tau function. If successful, this mechanism could separate it from prior tau-targeting drugs that fell short in clinical trials. Check it out: https://substack.com/home/post/p-181925825

A new biotech company called Syremis launched with $165 million in Series A funding to focus on developing innovative treatments for schizophrenia, bringing together executives from Karuna Therapeutics and Teva Pharmaceuticals with deep experience in neuroscience drug development. 

The funding round – led by Third Rock Ventures and Dexcel Pharma – underscores confidence in the company’s strategy to tackle a major unmet need in mental health, where effective new therapies have been difficult to achieve. 

Proceeds from this round will help Syremis advance its early-stage research and build out a pipeline targeting schizophrenia, a chronic and debilitating psychiatric disorder with limited treatment options. Here’s more: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251218743253/en/Syremis-Therapeutics-Launches-with-%24165M-to-Develop-Best-in-Class-Medicines-for-Mental-Health-Conditions

Did you know that music improvisation rewires the brain in real time?

In a new imaging study, researchers examined how 16 skilled jazz pianists’ brains reorganized while they played a familiar tune from memory, improvised around its melody, or freely improvised over its chord changes.

The findings indicate that different levels of creative freedom activate distinct patterns of brain network coupling, shifting from more evaluative and controlled processing in structured improvisation to heightened sensory-motor and pleasure-related responses during freer creativity.

The work reveals how the brain dynamically transitions between networks to support real-time innovation. Check it out: https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.70042