our discovery platform
Unlocking the therapeutic potential of CCC modulation
IAMA Therapeutics has developed a proprietary discovery platform dedicated to the rational design of small molecules targeting cation-chloride cotransporters (CCCs)—key regulators of neuronal excitability and chloride homeostasis.
Through a combination of medicinal chemistry, structure-based drug design, and functional screening, our platform enables the identification of novel chemical entities with optimized selectivity, pharmacokinetics, and brain penetration. This allows us to go beyond repurposed compounds and generate a pipeline of innovative therapeutics acting on CCCs, including NKCC1.
In partnership with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), we leverage high-performance computing and molecular modeling capabilities—including access to one of Europe’s most advanced supercomputers—to accelerate hit identification and optimize compound-target interactions at atomic resolution.
Our integrated platform gives us a competitive edge in discovering first-in-class and best-in-class CCC modulators for multiple CNS disorders.
Through atomistic simulation, we visualize the conformational dynamics of NKCC1 during ion binding and translocation across the membrane. These insights provide a molecular-level understanding of the transport mechanism, which is central to NKCC1’s role in regulating neuronal excitability.
IAMA Therapeutics leverages advanced computational modeling and molecular simulations as part of its drug discovery platform, in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), to guide the development of next-generation NKCC1 inhibitors.
This simulation highlights one of the key structural regions targeted by our lead molecules, and supports our structure-based design strategy for therapeutic modulation of CCCs.
research collaborations
IAMA Therapeutics has an ongoing research partnership with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT). In January 2022, IAMA entered into a license agreement with IIT granting exclusive worldwide rights to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize a class of selective NKCC1 inhibitors.
This collaboration laid the foundation for the advancement of IAMA-6 into clinical development. Additional research partnerships have further supported the program, enabling preclinical validation in a range of disease models and accelerating the translation of IAMA-6 into the clinic.
IAMA continues to explore the therapeutic potential of this class of molecules across a variety of neurological disorders characterized by chloride imbalance and disrupted inhibitory signaling.
