EpiVario, Inc., a Penn spinout co-founded by Shelley Berger, PhD, the Daniel S. Och University Professor at Penn Medicine, announced the issuance to Penn of US Patent No. 12,077,527 and JP7423068B2, its Japanese counterpart. These patents have been exclusively licensed by Penn to EpiVario.
The patents relate to small molecule inhibitors of acetyl co-A synthetase 2 (ACSS2) and their use in treating substance use disorders (SUDs), including opioid use disorder (OUD) and cocaine use disorder (CUD). ACSS2 inhibitors work by leveraging an epigenetic mechanism to disrupt the formation of drug-craving memories, and they have the potential to provide therapeutic intervention that reduces cravings and aids in preventing relapse. Read more here.