A Sydney chemist, Professor Michael Kassiou, has recently developed molecules which could potentially be a method for treating dementia, depression and schizophrenia.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Professor Kassiou spent more than a decade hunting for molecules small enough to enter the brain and activate our oxytocin receptors.
The Greek Australian professor has also co-founded Kinoxis, a company founded alongside his University of Sydney colleagues to commercialise the new molecules.
Kinoxis has now signed a $US181 million ($AUD273 million) partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to investigate drugs that treat aggression and social withdrawal in people with a range of psychiatric disorders.
“It’s one of the most exciting drug discovery programs I’ve seen because we’re targeting something that hasn’t been targeted before with small molecules, and in ways not previously possible,” Professor Kassiou told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“It opens up enormous possibilities.”
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald.
