Vistagen (Nasdaq:VTGN), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on anxiety, depression and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders, said on Wednesday that it has received a Notice of Intention to Grant a patent from the European Patent Office (EPO) for the use of AV-101 in treating neuropathic pain.

AV-101, Vistagen's investigational oral prodrug of 7-chloro-kynurenic acid (7-Cl-KYNA), has shown robust effects similar to gabapentin, with a superior side effect profile, in preclinical models.

Extending until at least 2034, this patent will become part of Vistagen's global patent portfolio encompassing therapeutic uses and manufacturing techniques for AV-101. Peer-reviewed studies in The Journal of Pain and the Scandinavian Journal of Pain affirm the drug's antinociceptive effects and favourable tolerability profile in preclinical and Phase 1 clinical trials.

The preclinical data, coupled with AV-101's positive results in levodopa-induced dyskinesia, position it as a promising non-opioid alternative for various CNS disorders. Vistagen aims to explore strategic collaborations to advance AV-101's clinical development and commercialisation in Phase 2.