2022 Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Congress organized by Taiwan Neuroscience Alliance (TNA) was held in Linkou Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Taiwan, from September 2 to 4. TNA is gathered 16 neuroscience-related societies, ranging from basic to clinical neuroscience, from computational to cognitive neuroscience, and from technology to therapeutic advances. Its Award Committee awarded the AnnJi representative Dr. Tsung-Pin (Andrew) Pai “The Best Oral Presentation of the Congress” titled “JM17 for Treatment of Spinal-bulbar Muscular Atrophy and Neurodegenerative Disorders”.

JM17, an Nrf2 activator and the active ingredient of AJ201, is a first-in-class pleiotropic small molecule under development by AnnJi for the treatment of Kennedy’s disease, a rare neurological disorder.  Patient enrollment of a Phase 2a trial for AJ201 will be initiated in the US by the end of 2022.

Pharmacological activities of JM17, including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, as well as protein quality control were reported. JM17 showed great potential for treatment of neurological disorders associated with oxidative stress and inflammation, especially with polyQ diseases such as SBMA.