JNJ-42165279 is a drug developed by

Janssen Pharmaceutica Janssen Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beerse, Belgium, and wholly-owned by Johnson & Johnson. It was founded in 1953 by Paul Janssen. In 1961, Janssen Pharmaceuticals was purchased by New Jersey-based American ...

which acts as a potent and selective inhibitor of the enzyme

fatty acid amide hydrolase Fatty acid amide hydrolase or FAAH (, oleamide hydrolase, anandamide amidohydrolase) is a member of the serine hydrolase family of enzymes. It was first shown to break down anandamide in 1993. In humans, it is encoded by the gene ''FAAH''.; Fu ...

(FAAH), with an IC₅₀ of 70 nM. It is described as a covalently binding but slowly reversible selective inhibitor of FAAH. JNJ-42165279 is being developed for the treatment of

anxiety disorder Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal function are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause phy ...

s and

major depressive disorder Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

. Clinical development has progressed as far as Phase II human

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

with two studies in patients with mood disorders registered in

ClinicalTrials.gov ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry of clinical trials. It is run by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health, and is the largest clinical trials database, holding registrations from over 329,000 tr ...

. In early 2016, a trial with a different FAAH inhibitor —

Bial Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, India. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by Bengaluru Inter ...

's BIA 10-2474 — resulted in a series of severe adverse events, including a death. In response, Janssen announced that it was temporarily suspending dosing in its two Phase II clinical trials with JNJ-42165279, describing the decision as "precautionary measure follows safety issue with different drug in class". Janssen was emphatic that no serious adverse events had been reported in any of the clinical trials with JNJ-42165279 to date. The suspension is to remain in effect until more information is available about the BIA 10-2474 study. As of 2018, the trials had resumed.

References

Cannabinoids Enzyme inhibitors Benzodioxoles Ureas Chloropyridines Organofluorides {{Nervous-system-drug-stub

See also

References