Cerecor Announces CERC-301 Granted U.S. Patent

Cerecor (NASDAQ: CERC) has announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office issued US Patent No. 10,202,363 on February 12 for the company’s CERC‑301, an oral, NR2B-specific, NMDA receptor antagonist.

As quoted in the press release:

CERC-301 is a selective NR2B-specific NMDA receptor antagonist with a unique mechanism of action tested in >375 subjects to date. CERC-301 is being developed for the treatment of Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension (nOH) associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Systems Atrophy and Pure Autonomic Failure. CERC-301 has a rapid onset of action, which we believe will result in long-term effectiveness and fewer side effects than the leading nOH treatments currently available.

The ‘363 patent covers the crystalline form of CERC‑301, as well as a pharmaceutical composition containing the crystalline form of CERC‑301. It also covers methods of treating conditions responsive to NR2B antagonists.

The ’363 patent, and its foreign counterpart applications, are co-owned with Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK). Cerecor has an exclusive, worldwide license from Merck to this patent family and two other patent families covering NR2B-specific, NMDA receptor antagonist for the development and commercialization of CERC‑301 (formerly MK‑0657) for all human indications.

Click here to read the full press release.