Solvonis Therapeutics (LSE:SVNS) said its SVN-015 compound will advance into further studies under the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse's Addiction Treatment Discovery Program (ATDP), after clearing an initial round of cardiac safety and off-target screening.
The London-listed, late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company develops small-molecule treatments for central nervous system disorders, and SVN-015 was accepted into NIDA's programme in December.
On cardiac ion-channel measures assessed so far, SVN-015 showed a more favourable profile than GBR-12909, an earlier dopamine transporter inhibitor NIDA evaluated for cocaine dependence that carried known cardiac ion-channel risks.
"These early results suggest that SVN-015 may have the potential to deliver the intended transporter pharmacology while avoiding some of the cardiac ion-channel liabilities associated with previous compounds in this area," said chief executive Anthony Tennyson.
The next phase, funded by NIDA rather than paid to Solvonis directly, will include in vivo mouse locomotor studies, confirmatory dopamine transporter binding tests and follow-up assessment of activity at the 5-HT2B receptor.
Solvonis retains ownership of SVN-015 and its intellectual property, with composition-of-matter patent applications already filed.
There is currently no FDA-approved medication for stimulant use disorder, which includes cocaine and methamphetamine dependence, leaving treatment reliant on behavioural interventions alone.
Completion of this next stage would give Solvonis a fuller preclinical data package and could support future applications for additional non-dilutive funding from the National Institutes of Health or NIDA.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
SVN-015 has cleared NIDA's initial cardiac safety screening with a more favourable ion-channel profile than GBR-12909, a prior dopamine transporter inhibitor that carried known cardiac risks. The compound now advances to NIDA-funded in vivo studies—a non-dilutive win that de-risks a key liability in stimulant use disorder, where no FDA-approved treatment exists. This builds on Solvonis's earlier progress: the company initiated SVN-002 Phase 2 in the U.S. on 29 April 2026 for moderate-to-severe AUD, and SVN-015 now gains preclinical momentum in a parallel indication with no approved standard of care.
SVN-015's cardiac safety clearance removes a material preclinical hurdle and unlocks further NIDA funding without equity dilution, strengthening the company's non-dilutive funding runway. As a pre-revenue clinical-stage biotech, Solvonis remains capital-dependent, but de-risking a lead compound's safety profile in an unmet-need indication improves the risk-reward for future financing and clinical advancement.
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