We continue our series of posts which are inspired by Drug Hunter’s “Molecules of the Month” (drughunter.com)!

Today, we would like to highlight JNJ-54175446, an oral, selective P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) antagonist now in Phase II trials for major depressive disorder (MDD). Nowadays, inhibiting P2X7R and P2X7-mediated IL-1β release represents a novel approach to treating mood disorders.

JNJ-54175446 was discovered through the optimization of prior P2X7R CNS-penetrating drug candidates. It has displayed excellent pharmacokinetics in several animal species, a very low predicted effective human dose, and a promising preclinical safety profile.

You can find analogs to this molecule by following this link!

Use chem-space.com/search to find off-the-shelf and Make-on-Demand molecules of your interest!