Solvonis Therapeutics PLC's (LSE:SVNS) shares jumped 13% after the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company announced promising early results from its SVN-SDN-14 programme targeting post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
The company revealed that three of six drug candidates showed strong and balanced activity across key brain chemicals—serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline that influence mood and social behaviour.
This balance is considered crucial for effective treatment.
Solvonis believes these new compounds could potentially help more than 20 million people across the UK, US and major European markets by improving their ability to form social connections and respond better to therapy.
The drugs aim to reduce social isolation and support emotional recovery by targeting brain pathways involved in empathy and bonding.
Originally expecting to select a single lead candidate at this stage, the company now has three strong contenders, increasing the chances of finding the most effective drug with commercial potential.
Professor David Nutt, Solvonis’ chief scientific officer, said: "It is encouraging to see three candidates with equally strong, balanced SERT, DAT, and NET modulation profiles. This gives us a solid basis from which to make an informed choice."
These candidates will advance to in vivo preclinical studies, which involve testing in living organisms to better understand how the drugs work in the body.
The stock rose 0.042p to 0.37p.