News:

May 9, 2025Akava Therapeutics, Inc. shares recent data suggesting that AKV9 acts on a common mechanism involved in both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)December 19, 2024Akava Therapeutics, Inc. congratulates SAB Chair Dr. Hande Ozdinler, Founder Dr. Richard B. Silverman, and Dr. William Klein on their recent grant of $7.3 million from the National Institute on Aging to investigate AKV9 in neurodegenerative diseasesDecember 17, 2024National Institute on Aging invests an additional $7.3 million into NU-9August 22, 2023Akava Therapeutics, Inc. Announces FDA Clearance of Investigational New Drug Application for the Treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisMay 16, 2023Richard B. Silverman elected to the National Academy of Sciences

About
AKAVA Therapeutics

Our mission is to discover and develop first-in-class inhibition therapeutics addressing unmet medical needs in neurodegeneration, neurological disorders, and oncology, allowing patients to live longer with improved quality of life.

AKAVA’S lead compound, AKV9, was initially investigated for its ability to inhibit toxic protein accumulation. Subsequent studies showed that it improves upper motor neuron health and reduces disease-associated protein pathology in two mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; SOD1 and TDP-43), hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Emerging mechanistic evidence indicates that AKV9 enhances lysosome-dependent protein clearance by promoting autophagic flux and the formation of functional acidic degradative compartments. AKV9 may therefore help cells remove toxic protein aggregates through the autolysosomal pathway, addressing a major pathological feature shared by many neurodegenerative diseases.

Science Behind the Discoveries

AKAVA Therapeutics’ programs are all based on some type of inhibition: inhibition of protein aggregation, inhibition of enzymes, and inhibition of tumor growth. We, therefore, refer to our therapeutics as inhibition therapeutics.

AKAVA’S main areas of focus are:

Pipeline

AKAVA’s pipeline is a collection of the most exciting novel compounds emerging from the Silverman Laboratory at Northwestern University. Richard B. Silverman, Ph.D. is responsible for groundbreaking research including inventing the blockbuster drug, Lyrica.