Implications for New Drugs for Schizophrenia

Flinders University researchers have investigated how an antipsychotic drug binds to its intended target, paving the way for the design of better antipsychotics.

How an antipsychotic drug in the development stage binds to its target has been identified by a team of researchers.

SEP-363856 or *Ulotaront* is an experimental antipsychotic, now under trials for the treatment of schizophrenia and related disorders.

‘Knowing how drugs and drug-like molecules interact with targets allows to predict binding interactions and provides a guide to designing new drugs.’
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SEP-363856 is an agonist, stimulating receptors in the brain, rather than an antagonist, which switches them off.

Flinders University researchers have discovered how the drug candidate is able to recognize and interact with its intended target site in the brain, a protein called trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR1).

Research team used supercomputing and data services facility at The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) in Canberra to model what happened to the receptor when it was exposed to SEP-363856.

Published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry the research found that the antipsychotic interacts with residues that play a key role in the selective binding of the drug to TAAR1 over other receptors.

“Understanding how drugs and drug-like molecules interact with drug targets at an atomic level allows us to predict their binding interactions and provides a guide to the rational design of new therapeutic agents,” says lead author Dr Pramod Nair from Flinders University’s College of Medicine and Public Health.

About Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by symptoms of thought, behavior and social problems.

“Using high-performance computing platforms allows us to rapidly predict such mechanisms, which would take several years if we were to do it in a lab.

“Understanding these processes in a short timeframe is valuable for developing effective therapeutics with reduced adverse reactions and a better scope towards personalized medicine.”

Source-Medindia