Company Expects to Initiate Study in Fourth Quarter of 2016

Trial Design Developed in Collaboration with Emory University School of Medicine and with Support from Dystonia Medical Research Foundation

Geneva, Switzerland, 17 October 2016 – Addex Therapeutics (SIX: ADXN) announced today that the Company will conduct a Phase IIa Proof of Concept Study of dipraglurant in focal cervical dystonia (CD).  Addex expects to initiate the trial in the fourth quarter of 2016.  The study was developed with support from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation and in collaboration with investigators from the Dystonia Coalition, an international network of experts devoted to advancing research in dystonia. Buz Jinnah, Director of the Dystonia Coalition and Professor of Neurology at Emory University, will serve as the lead investigator.  

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. Dystonia represents the third most common movement disorder in humans and comprises a large number of clinical syndromes. CD is the most prevalent form of dystonia; recent international prevalence estimates place the number of CD patient in the US between 50,000 and 100,000 - a range which is much higher than previously reported1 and considers the large portion of undiagnosed population2. CD has been demonstrated to have a significant impact on quality of life3. Current treatment options for focal CD include botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections, which generally reduce muscle spasms temporarily for a few months. However, the interval between BoNT injections is usually longer than the duration of action, leaving patients with sub-optimal symptom relief towards the end of the treatment for weeks. In addition, most patients rarely experience any symptom free days.4

Addex’s Phase IIa Proof of Concept study will include 18 focal CD patients who are currently sub-optimally treated with BoNT. The single center study will be double-blinded and placebo-controlled. A single dose of dipraglurant will be administered in a crossover design. The TWSTR scale, a well-established clinical rating scale designed to detect drug induced changes, will serve as the primary endpoint of the trial. Key secondary endpoints will include an evaluation of the Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile, a patient-reported outcome for quality of life, pharmacokinetics and safety and tolerability.

“Cervical dystonia is a rare disorder that is not easy for most doctors to treat. BoNT provides partial relief for many patients, but it has its limitations - we need to do better,” said Professor Jinnah. “An oral medication would be a great option, and dipraglurant is the first oral agent brought forward for this condition in decades. We are delighted to be able to test it for our patients."

“We are extremely pleased with our ongoing collaboration with Addex and the Company’s decision to conduct this trial,” said Jan Teller, CSO of Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. “Our foundation identified dipraglurant as the most promising drug candidate for dystonia and places Addex among a few pioneering pharmaceutical companies who are developing new oral treatments for dystonia patients. Our Foundation will continue to support these efforts in any way possible.”

“We are excited to be kicking off this Phase IIa POC clinical trail with dipraglurant in focal cervical dystonia,” said Tim Dyer, CEO of Addex. “Addex intends to initiate this study in the fourth quarter of 2016, and anticipates the availability of data in the second half of 2017. We are pleased to have Professor Jinnah, a world-renowned neurologist, serving as lead investigator for our study, and are grateful for the continued support from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.”

Dipraglurant has demonstrated positive anti-dystonic effects in multiple animal models of dystonia (behavioral and genetic, spontaneous and induced), as well as a positive anti-dystonia effect in Parkinson’s patients. Preclinical proof of concept has been established in multiple models of dystonia and preliminary clinical evidence of efficacy in levodopa induced dystonia has previously been observed.

“Dipraglurant has demonstrated robust efficacy in a Phase II study in patients suffering from levodopa-induced dyskinesia associated with Parkinson’s disease which included patients suffering from dystonia,” said Sonia Poli, CSO of Addex. “This clinical data in Parkinson’s disease patients and preclinical data in multiple models of dystonia is highly supportive of studying dipraglurant in focal cervical dystonia.”

About Dystonia
Dystonia is a neurological disorder characterized by persistent or intermittent muscle contractions causing abnormal, often repetitive, movements, postures, or both. The movements are usually patterned and twisting, and may resemble a tremor. Symptoms originate from an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. There are multiple forms of dystonia, and up to 100 diseases and conditions include dystonia as a prominent symptom. Dystonia may affect a single body area or be generalized throughout multiple muscle groups. Dystonia affects men, women, and children of all ages and backgrounds. Estimates suggest that no fewer than 300,000 people are affected in the United States and Canada alone. Early onset isolated dystonia is rare and frequently has a genetic basis (e.g. DYT1) and can progress to affect several parts of the body. Dystonia causes varying degrees of disability and pain, from mild to severe.

About Dipraglurant 
Dipraglurant is an oral, small molecule allosteric modulator that inhibits selectively the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5), a Class C G¬-Protein Coupled Receptor, with potential to be used in combination with levodopa or dopamine agonists or as a standalone treatment for Parkinson's disease levodopa ¬induced dyskinesia (PD¬LID), motor and non¬motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. In a double-¬blind, placebo-¬controlled, US and European Phase II study in PD¬LID, data showed that dipraglurant met the primary objective of the study by exhibiting a good safety and tolerability profile. Dipraglurant also demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in LID severity with both 50 and 100 mg doses. Dipraglurant reduced dystonia severity in addition to chorea, the two major LID components. Efficacy was measured using the modified Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale and patient diaries documenting "off¬-time" (impaired voluntary movement), "on-¬time" (with or without dyskinesia) and sleep. Additional endpoints include the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, the Clinical and Patient Global Impression of Changes scales, and an evaluation of the patient’s mood using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The trial was supported by a grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

About Addex Therapeutics
Addex Therapeutics (www.addextherapeutics.com) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, orally available, small molecule allosteric modulators for neurological disorders. Allosteric modulators are an emerging class of small molecule drugs which have the potential to be more specific and confer significant therapeutic advantages over conventional "orthosteric" small molecule or biological drugs.  Addex’s allosteric modulator drug discovery platform targets receptors and other proteins that are recognized as essential for therapeutic intervention – the Addex pipeline was generated from this pioneering allosteric modulator drug discovery platform. Addex’s lead drug candidate, dipraglurant (mGluR5 negative allosteric modulator or NAM) has successfully completed a phase IIa POC in Parkinson’s disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia (PD-LID), and is being prepared to enter phase III for PD-LID with support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). In parallel, dipraglurant’s therapeutic use in dystonia is being investigated with support from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (DMRF). Addex’s second clinical program, ADX71149 (mGluR2 positive allosteric modulator or PAM) is being developed in collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc for epilepsy. In addition, ADX71441 (GABAB receptor PAM) has received regulatory approval to start phase I and is being investigated for its therapeutic use in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 1A disease (CMT1A), cocaine and alcohol use disorder and nicotine dependence. Discovery programs include mGluR4PAM for neurodegenerative diseases, mGluR7NAM for psychosomatic disorders and TrkBPAM for neurodegenerative disorders which are being advanced in collaboration with the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva under the Swiss CTI grant program; and mGluR3PAM which is being advanced in collaboration with Pierre Fabre Pharmaceuticals.

About the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation
The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (DMRF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing research for improved dystonia treatments and ultimately a cure, promoting awareness and patient education, and supporting the well-being of affected individuals and families. The DMRF can be reached at 800-377-3978 or www.dystonia-foundation.org.

¹ Steeves et al, The Prevalence of Primary Dystonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.  Movement Disorders 2012.
² J. Jankovic et al, Prevalence of cervical dystonia and spasmodic torticollis in the United States general population. Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, 2007
³ Poliziani, Koch and Liu.  Striving for more good days: patient perspectives on botulinum toxin for the treatment of cervical dystonia.  PATIENT PREFERENCE AND ADHERENCE.  22 August 2016.
⁴ Ojo and Fernandex, Is it time for flexibility in botulinum inter-injection intervals? Toxicon 2015.

Press Contacts:
Tim Dyer
Chief Executive Officer
Addex Therapeutics
Telephone: +41 22 884 15 61
Email: PR(at)addextherapeutics.com

Disclaimer / Forward-looking statements: This communication does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for or purchase any securities of Addex Therapeutics Ltd. This publication may contain certain forward-looking statements concerning the Company and its business. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.