Overview
- The preclinical paper, published July 15 in Science Translational Medicine, reports that SB-0110 increased levodopa’s motor benefit while reducing levodopa‑induced dyskinesia in rodent and non‑human primate models.
- Researchers found the candidate by comparing striatal gene‑expression changes caused by levodopa with drug‑induced expression datasets, a transcriptomics approach that prioritized compounds that keep levodopa’s beneficial programs active and oppose dyskinesia‑linked programs.
- SB-0110 is a chemical derivative of trapidil, an older drug used in Japan, and the team links its effect to modulation of a PKA signaling node though published accounts differ on whether the isoform is described as PKA‑II or PKA‑III.
- Sinopia says it is completing required toxicology studies ahead of a planned first‑in‑human trial next year and estimates, if clinical development succeeds, a potential six‑ to seven‑year path to patient availability; the work was funded largely by NIH SBIR grants with support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
- Authors disclosed company employment, equity and patents covering the compounds, and experts caution that animal success does not guarantee human benefit so clinical trials and regulatory review will determine whether SB-0110 can change care for people on levodopa.