3-(2,4-Dimethoxybenzylidene)anabaseine
GTS-21 (also known as DMBX-A), is a novel, small-molecule, orally active and selective alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptor agonist that has demonstrated memory and cognition enhancement activity in human clinical trials. Athenagen licensed the exclusive rights to the compound and a related library of analogs as part of the acquisition of Osprey Pharmaceutical Company in April 2006. GTS-21 has been studied in multiple Phase I studies in healthy volunteers and one Phase I/II study in schizophrenic patients. In all studies, the compound was well tolerated. In a Phase I multi-dose, double-blind, placebo controlled study in healthy adults, GTS-21 also demonstrated cognitive enhancement across all doses, with a statistically significant improvement in attention related and memory related tasks (Kitagawa, et al. Neuropsychopharmacology (2003), 28, 542-551).