“The progress in the clinical development of IRL757 as a potential new treatment for Parkinson’s patients experiencing apathy triggers a USD 3 million milestone payment that will further strengthen IRLAB's financial position. The solid scientific and financial backing from our collaborator, MSRD, enables us to continue to develop this first-in-class drug candidate efficiently, with the aim to improve the quality of life for the vast number of persons who are currently lacking treatment options for this severely disabling condition,” says Kristina Torfgård, CEO of IRLAB.

The safety, tolerability and signal finding Phase Ib study, LIFT-PD, which will include 75 patients with Parkinson’s disease who experience apathy, will be conducted at 16 study sites in Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, and Spain.

Two previous Phase I studies, one in healthy young adults and one in healthy older adults aged 65 and above, both showed that IRL757 was well absorbed and provided good systemic exposure after 10 days of dosing. All participants completed both studies, and no serious adverse events were recorded.

Apathy is characterized by indifference, resignation and a lack of response to what is happening in the outside world. The condition often leads to significant disability affecting a substantial proportion of people living with Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, there are no drugs on the market to treat apathy.

IRLAB and MSRD, a member of the global Otsuka family of pharmaceutical companies, formed a collaboration in May 2024 to advance IRL757 through proof-of-concept trials as a potential treatment for apathy.

IRLAB's drug candidate IRL757 has shown positive effects in several preclinical models of cognitive function, including improved motivation. This effect is believed to be associated with the drug candidate's unique ability to counteract disturbances in central nervous system nerve signaling proposed to underly apathy in several neurological conditions.

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