About
AKAVA Therapeutics
Our mission is to discover and develop first-in-class inhibition therapeutics addressing unmet medical needs in neurodegeneration and oncology, allowing patients to live longer with improved quality of life.
AKAVA’S lead compound, AKV9, is a protein aggregation inhibitor that was identified to be the first compound to improve the health of upper motor neurons that degenerate in motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), and ALS/frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).
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.
News:
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January 26, 2023Drug Hunter Interview
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January 26, 2023A Long Swim
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July 6, 2022 , NewsAkava receives Orphan Drug Designation status for AKV9
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July 1, 2022 , NewsALS drug breakthrough shows promise in animal studies
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May 27, 2022This time around, Lyrica’s inventor is developing his Northwestern discoveries at his own biotech
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March 30, 2022NU‑9 improves health of hSOD1G93A mouse upper motor neurons in vitro, especially in combination with riluzole or edaravone
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October 22, 2021License agreement with Northwestern University for AKV9 has been completed.
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August 30, 2021AKAVA Founder, Richard B. Silverman receives 2021 Tetrahedron Prize