Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals and PsychoGenics have entered into a partnership to discover and optimize novel treatments for brain disorders and psychiatric conditions. 

Under the terms of the agreement, PsychoGenics is providing access to its phenotypic discovery platforms, including its SmartCube system and machine learning expertise, for unbiased discovery of novel therapeutics for brain disorders identified from the Blue Oak library of privileged chemotypes. The PsychoGenics technology platforms combine broad in vivo behavioral expertise with developments in robotics, computer vision, and bioinformatics to evaluate drug candidates for potential utility across the spectrum of CNS disease indications. 

“We have a strong, 10-year relationship with Dr. Emer Leahy and PsychoGenics that has validated our systems neurobiology paradigm for discovering clinical molecules with mechanisms-of-action distinct from existing drugs. We are confident that combining PGI’s deep behavioral profiling with Blue Oak’s privileged chemotypes and brain imaging biomarkers will yield the new therapies that have eluded the industry for several decades” said Tom Large, Ph.D., Blue Oak’s president and chief executive officer. 

PsychoGenics’ prior work includes an investigational psychotropic agent that is being studied in Phase II clinical trials as a treatment for patients with schizophrenia and for Parkinson’s disease psychosis.