Cerevel Fast Track on Dementia-Related Apathy Drug

FDA has granted Cerevel Therapeutics a fast track designation for CVL-871, a selective dopamine D1/D5 partial agonist in development for treating dementia-related apathy. The company says that apathy is a “strong predictor of dementia progression and can lead to decreased quality of life, increased morbidity and mortality, early institutionalization, and significant caregiver burden.” The drug is designed to address symptoms represented by dementia-related apathy, such as social disengagement, diminished initiative and interest and loss of emotion, it says. CVL-871 is believed to work by modulating complex neural networks that govern apathy-related behaviors in neurodegenerative diseases. Cerevel says it is planning to initiate screening in a Phase 2a exploratory trial in dementia-related apathy in the next few weeks and data are anticipated in the second half of 2022.