Diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) are often a sustained and severe burden for patients and their relatives. In many cases options are limited to treating symptoms and we are still a long way from having cures. Addressing this challenging area of medicine where there is significant unmet medical need, is SYGNIS mission.
CNS disorders, especially neurodegenerative, traumatic and psychiatric diseases share a common cause for the symptoms: the loss of neurons from the brain or spinal cord. This loss can be acutely induced by stroke, head trauma or spinal cord injury or by chronic processes as in Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; Lou Gehrig’s disease).
The result for patients is always a decline in functional ability depending on the site and extent of neuronal loss. Motor deficits and dementia/cognitive impairment are the most common and severe impacts associated with neuronal loss. Most CNS disorders are highly complex and only little is known about the exact mechanisms of disease.
SYGNIS is engaged in the discovery and development of novel treatments for CNS disorders with a special focus on stroke and various forms of dementia.
Understanding the human body’s own mechanism of repair and recovery in addition to the mechanism of disease is key for the development of new effective treatments. The SYGNIS team has significant experience and expertise in the discovery and analysis of such mechanisms. Furthermore, SYGNIS knows how to rapidly develop promising projects and translating discovery research into preclinical and clinical development. SYGNIS believes that the processes enhancing recovery in the CNS like neurogenesis, neurodifferentiation or plasticity, could have a tremendous positive impact on the treatment of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. Stimulation of the regenerative processes in the CNS could open new avenues for changing the course of a disease - or even finding a cure.
SYGNIS’ focus on innovative and accelerated development paths with reduced risks combines:
SYGNIS currently has one drug candidate in late phase II clinical development for stroke (AXIS 2) and further candidates in discovery and preclinical projects.