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Tonix Pharmaceuticals Announces Agreement and Initiation of Enrollment in Phase 2 Trial with the University of Washington to Study TNX-1900 (Potentiated Intranasal Oxytocin) for Social Anxiety Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder Affects 15 Million U.S. Adults and is More Common Among Women than Men CHATHAM, N.J., July 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tonix
About this update from Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"Social Anxiety Disorder Affects 15 Million U.S. Adults and is More Common Among Women than Men\nCHATHAM, N.J., July 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: TNXP), a biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the first participant has been enrolled in a Phase 2 investigator-initiated, proof-of-concept study of TNX-1900 (potentiated intranasal oxytocin) for enhancing social safety learning in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Tonix entered into an agreement with the University of Washington to examine the potential role of TNX-1900 with Angela Fang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Washington as the principal investigator. “We are excited to collaborate with the University of Washington and Dr. Fang on the development of TNX-1900 for social anxiety disorder,” said Seth Lederman, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Tonix Pharmaceuticals. “In the past decade, there has been an increase in studies examining oxytocin’s effects on social cognition and behavior in animals and humans due to translational discoveries showing that intranasal oxytocin appears to reach central nervous system targets1. Specifically, evidence suggests that oxytocin may enhance the importance of social cues or have anti-anxiety properties2,3. These studies have shown that intranasal oxytocin may hold therapeutic promise for psychiatric disorders involving social deficits3-5. TNX-1900 is a proprietary formulation of oxytocin that contains magnesium, which Tonix has shown in animal models potentiates the action of oxytocin at oxytocin receptors and potentially improves the consistency of treatment by reducing paradoxical high-dose inhibition.” “For psychiatric disorders characterized by severe social avoidance, such as social anxiety disorder, social learning has been disproportionately understudied despite its role in the acquisition of fear in models of anxiety,” said Dr. Fang. “Social anxiety disorder is a disabling psychiatric disorder. Past research has focused on the observational, or vicarious, acquisition of fears, but little is known about how social information (such as observing others experiencing safety) can promote safety learning. To address this issue, we will study the effects of vicarious extinction learning on the recovery of conditioned fear.” The Phase 2 study is a randomized...