ACT-462206 is a new, potent, and selective dual orexin receptor antagonist that inhibits the stimulating effects of the orexin peptides at both the orexin 1 and 2 receptors. ACT-462206 shows anxiolytic-like properties in rodents without affecting cognition and motor function. It is therefore a potential candidate for the treatment of insomnia and was in phase I of clinical trial, but this research has been discontinued.

MK-1903 is a potent and selective hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 2 (HCA2, GPR109A) full agonist. Exhibits no binding at the GRP109B receptor. This drug had been in phase II clinical trial for the treatment of atherosclerosis and Dyslipidemia. But then, according to Merck, elevation of HDL cholesterol relative to placebo did not meet the trial's pre-specified primary objective for efficacy; no safety signals were implicated as drivers of the decision to discontinue development.

GNF-156 (ganaplacide or KAF-156) is an antimalarial agent that is part of the imidazolopiperazine family. It exerts activity against pre-erythrocytic liver stages, asexual and sexual blood stages. An improvement compared to existing antimalarial drug combinations is that this compound shows promising single-dose antimalarial activity, and no serious safety and tolerability concerns in humans are known so far. Phase II clinical trials have been completed for GNF-156. Its potential is also being investigated in combination with lumefantrine (an aryl-amino alcohol) in LUM-KAF156.

MK-1064 is an orexin 2 receptor antagonist patented by pharmaceutical company Merck & Co for the treatment of insomnia. MK-1064decreases the amount of time spent in active wake and increases the time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and slow-wave sleep (SMS) in mice, rats, dogs, and rhesus monkeys. MK-1064, even at the very high dose did not show signs of an enhanced predisposition to cataplexy in the food-elicited cataplexy test. MK-1064 has now completed two Phase I studies focused on pharmacokinetics, safety and sleep in healthy volunteers. The effects of MK-1064 on sleep parameters were moderate, but statistically significant, representing the first demonstration of PSG-quantified sleep induced in humans by an OX2R antagonist. MK-1064 at 50, 120 and 250 mg decreased latency to persistent sleep and wake after sleep onset, and increased total sleep time and sleep efficiency.

1,1-DIETHYL-4-PHENYLHOMOPIPERAZINIUM (ASM-024), a small synthetic molecule in clinical stage development, has shown activity at the level of nicotinic receptors and possibly at the muscarinic level and presents anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator properties. Aerosolized ASM-024 reduces airway resistance in mice and promotes in-vitro relaxation of tracheal and bronchial preparations from animal and human tissues. ASM-024 increased in vitro relaxation response to maximally effective concentration of short-acting beta-2 agonists in dog and human bronchi. ASM-024 is able to activate the α7 nAChR channel opening in the presence of the positive allosteric modulator (PNU-120596), indicating that ASM-024 behaves as a ‘silent agonist’ that places the receptor in a desensitized state. Compounds with similar properties have been shown to induce signal transduction pathways independently of ion channel activation. ASM-024 has demonstrated an antagonist effect on ACH-evoked activation at the M1, M2 and M3 muscarinic receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes. A comprehensive nonclinical safety program was conducted with ASM-024 including pharmacokinetic and metabolism studies, safety pharmacology studies, toxicology and genotoxicity studies. In all, seven clinical studies were completed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and clinical activity of ASM-024. Three Phase I and four Phase II clinical trials were conducted on healthy subjects and patients with mild allergic asthma, stable moderate asthma and subjects with COPD. Altogether, ASM-024 has been safely administered to more than 200 subjects via the oral and inhalation delivery, i.e. nebulized solution and dry powder inhalation. However, the outcome of two phase II pilot studies in patients failed to demonstrate sufficient efficacy of ASM-024 in asthma and COPD. Thus, further work on ASM-024 on pulmonary diseases was stopped. In light of the findings that ASM‐024 blocks both nicotinic and muscarinic receptor activation, it is believed that ASM-024 will be a potent inhibitor of cell growth. These properties may have the potential to reduce the development or progression of tumors expressing these receptors. Based on a greater knowledge of the unique pharmacological mechanisms of action of ASM-024 developed at Asmacure, Odan is exploring the potential therapeutic role of ASM-024 in the treatment of selected oncology diseases. These studies include the in vitro anti-proliferative properties against a panel of various cancer cell lines and the in vivo anti-tumor activity in selected mouse models. Overall, the most significant inhibitory effect on in vitro cell proliferation was observed on the following cell lines: human lung adenocarcinoma, breast cancer, brain neuroblastoma, prostate adenocarcinoma and malignant melanoma. Preliminary data from a mouse model of lung carcinoma (Lewis Lung Cancer) using a slow infusion delivery method that ASM-024 treatment reduces the size and number of tumor nodules in the lung. In addition the potential therapeutic synergism between ASM-024 with commonly used chemotherapeutic agents will be investigated. Cisplatin and the taxanes (e.g. paclitaxel or Taxol) are commonly used chemotherapeutic agents, but their use is limited by their toxicity rates and innate or acquired resistance to these drugs. The concomitant effect of ASM-024 and cisplatin or Taxol on the proliferation of tumor cells will be assessed in vitro and potentially in in vivo mouse models. In the long term, Odan will consider to pursue the development of ASM-024 in a solution formulation administered intravenously (IV) in conjunction with the commonly-used cancer chemotherapeutic agents, for the growth inhibition and possibly regression of tumors in cancer patients.