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SandboxAQ and MapLight Therapeutics Announce Strategic Collaboration to Discover and Develop Novel CNS Therapies
SAN FRANCISCO and BOSTON, Dec. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SandboxAQ and MapLight Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPLT) announced today that the companies have entered into a strategic collaboration to discover and develop potential first-in-class therapies targeting a novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Under the terms of the agreement, SandboxAQ received an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive additional preclinical, deve
About this update from Maplight Therapeutics, Inc.
[{"type":"image","alt":"MapLight Therapeutics, Inc.","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"MapLight Therapeutics, Inc.","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":300,"height":54,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/globenewswire.com/941d8d85f6b637b4194ef76437eebab4"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/4H.ijOyaLLSu8RB2vL9Vrw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTQyMDtoPTc2O2NmPXdlYnA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/globenewswire.com/941d8d85f6b637b4194ef76437eebab4","width":300,"height":54}},"lazy":false},{"type":"text","content":"SAN FRANCISCO and BOSTON, Dec. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SandboxAQ and MapLight Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPLT) announced today that the companies have entered into a strategic collaboration to discover and develop potential first-in-class therapies targeting a novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders.","length":367,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Under the terms of the agreement, SandboxAQ received an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive additional preclinical, development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments of up to $200 million in aggregate. The companies will jointly conduct preclinical research activities and MapLight will have exclusive rights for potential clinical development and commercialization of collaboration compounds.","length":414,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"“We are excited to advance research efforts for this novel target that was identified and validated using our discovery platform,” said James Lillie, Chief Scientific Officer at MapLight. “We look forward to collaborating with SandboxAQ to leverage their AI platform to discover and advance novel therapies that have the potential to address significant unmet patient needs across a spectrum of CNS conditions.”","length":411,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"As part of the collaboration, SandboxAQ will deploy large-scale AI models and high-fidelity molecular simulation designed to rapidly explore receptor structure-functional activity, predict ligand-receptor interactions, and optimize drug properties. These models and simulations enable exploration of compounds at a larger scale, rapid DMTA (Design-Make-Test-Analyze) cycles and faster convergence to potential drug candidates.","length":426,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"t...