Centessa Pharmaceuticals has appointed Stephen Kanes, MD, PhD, as its Chief Medical Officer (CMO), effective January 8, 2025. Dr. Kanes, a neuropsychiatrist with over 30 years of experience in neuroscience, clinical psychiatry, and neuroscience drug development, will oversee the advancement of Centessa's orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist program. This includes the ongoing Phase 2a clinical studies of ORX750 for narcolepsy type 1 (NT1), narcolepsy type 2 (NT2), and idiopathic hypersomnia (IH).
Kanes' Background and Expertise
Prior to joining Centessa, Dr. Kanes served as CMO of Sage Therapeutics from 2013 to 2021, where he led the clinical development of ZULRESSO® (brexanolone), the first treatment approved for postpartum depression (PPD). He also held leadership positions at EmbarkNeuro and AstraZeneca, and was a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychiatry. His extensive experience in clinical program design and execution, particularly in neurology and psychiatry, is expected to be invaluable to Centessa as it progresses its OX2R agonist franchise.
Orexin Agonist Program
Centessa is focused on developing potential best-in-class, orally administered OX2R agonists for sleep-wake disorders and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) associated with neurological, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric conditions. Their lead candidate, ORX750, is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for NT1, NT2, and IH. Interim Phase 1 data for ORX750 in acutely sleep-deprived healthy volunteers demonstrated restoration of normative wakefulness with a mean sleep latency of 32 minutes as measured by the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) at the 2.5 mg dose. The company plans to present Phase 1 data at a medical congress in Q2 2025.
ORX142 Preclinical Data
Centessa also presented preclinical data for ORX142, another OX2R agonist, at the 27th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society (Sleep Europe 2024). The non-human primate (NHP) data support ORX142 as a potential treatment for EDS in select neurological, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric disorders. ORX142 is currently in IND-enabling activities.
Financial Position
Centessa Pharmaceuticals recently announced the pricing of an upsized $225 million public offering of American Depositary Shares. The company's financial stability is reflected in its current ratio of 21.52, indicating that its liquid assets significantly exceed short-term obligations.
LockBody® Technology Platform
In addition to its orexin agonist program, Centessa is developing its proprietary LockBody® technology platform for immuno-oncology. LockBody drug candidates are designed to selectively drive potent effector function activity to the tumor micro-environment (TME) while avoiding systemic toxicity.
