Aplindore (DAB-452) is a drug which acts as a

partial agonist In pharmacology, partial agonists are drugs that bind to and activate a given receptor, but have only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist. They may also be considered ligands which display both agonistic and antagonis ...

selective for the

dopamine receptor D2 Dopamine receptor D2, also known as D2R, is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the ''DRD2'' gene. After work from Paul Greengard's lab had suggested that dopamine receptors were the site of action of antipsychotic drugs, several groups, i ...

. It is being developed by the pharmaceutical company Neurogen as a treatment for

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and

restless legs syndrome Restless legs syndrome (RLS), also known as Willis-Ekbom disease (WED), is generally a long-term disorder that causes a strong urge to move one's legs. There is often an unpleasant feeling in the legs that improves somewhat by moving them. This ...

. On December 23, 2009 Neurogen was acquired by

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company located in San Diego, California. Founded in 1987 as Progenix Inc., the company went public in 1992. Initially focused on developing its own drugs, a period of turbulence in the early 2000s cul ...

. Rights to Aplindore were given to Ligand around time of merger. As of 2008, Phase II was completed and Ligand. Upon reviewing company website (Ligand.com) this drug is currently not listed at the moment due to several programs already partnered with GSK. GSK holds a significant share of the drug RLS drug programs on the market with Requip XR and the recent FDA approval of Horizant. To prevent any direct competition and losing strong ties with GSK, Aplindore is not listed at the moment on Lidgand website. If this medication were to reach phase III, this could adversely effect Ligand`s portfolio of partnered and unpartnered assets. By electing not to list the drug on company website, Ligand maintains the appearance that they are "currently actively seeking a partner" when a potential investor inquirers about drug development via email.

References

{{Dopaminergics Dopamine agonists Benzodioxans Lactams Amines Nitrogen heterocycles Oxygen heterocycles Heterocyclic compounds with 3 rings