Devon’s Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, which develops synthetic cannabinoid therapies, is focusing on several rare and near-rare neurological and psychiatric disorders that have unmet medical needs, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

This year’s priority for the Chester County-based company is to continue the development of its new lead drug candidate, ZYN002, for Fragile X syndrome. This is an inherited autism spectrum disorder affecting a number of epilepsy types.

Zynerba also plans to begin mid-stage testing of its other new drug candidate, ZYN001, for Tourette Syndrome by the end of this year.

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Meanwhile, the company is discontinuing its investment in “capital-intensive” pain medicine and will stop testing of ZYN002 as a potential osteoarthritis treatment. The company had previously reported disappointing results from a study testing ZYN002 for knee pain treatment in osteoarthritis patients.

“The decision to concentrate on rare and near-rare neurological and psychiatric disorders is driven by a number of important factors,” said Armando Anido, Zynerba’s chairman and CEO. These include “the compelling ZYN002 clinical data seen to date in Fragile X syndrome and refractory focal epilepsy.”

Read more about Zynerba Pharmaceuticals in the Philadelphia Business Journal here.

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