CX717

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CX717 is an ampakine compound created by Dr. Gary Lynch at UCI in 1993 and further developed by Cortex Pharmaceuticals, an Irvine company created to explore possible applications. It affects the neurotransmitter glutamate, with early trials showing the drug improves cognitive functioning and memory.

In 2005 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted Cortex Pharmaceuticals' IND (Investigational New Drug) application to initiate pilot Phase II clinical trials in the United States.

Also, in 2005, the United States Department of Defense funded a study to look into CX717 and the physiological effects of sleepiness. The study found that rhesus monkeys performed faster and better after receiving the drug, and it counteracted the effects of sleep deprivation.

However, a 2006 study funded by DARPA found that CX717 did not improve cognitive performance in humans subjected to simulated night shift work. [1]

Other AMPAkine drugs from Cortex Pharmaceuticals such as CX614 have already been researched for use in treating Alzheimer's disease and ADHD. These drugs were reasonably effective at reducing the symptoms of Alzheimer's and it is hoped that they will also slow the progression of the disease. CX717 is a newer drug in the same series. The chemical structure of CX717 has not yet been revealed by Cortex Pharmaceuticals, but is presumably similar to earlier compounds in the series as shown below. It is very unusual for research on a compound to be released in scientific journals without disclosing exactly what the compound consists of, but this information is likely to have been kept confidential for reasons of intellectual property, and also because the research on CX717 was partially funded by DARPA, the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.