The recently published work concerns a new group of chemical compounds that may potentially prove effective in the treatment of depression and Parkinson’s disease. The research, conducted in collaboration with the company Neurolixis, is being carried out at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry of Jagiellonian University Medical College (UJ CM), in the team led by Professor Marcin Kołaczkowski.
“In our latest work, we present a new group of chemical compounds that selectively activate the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor. We focused on inducing a specific cellular response – ERK1/2 phosphorylation – which is associated with beneficial therapeutic effects in depression and motor disorders,” explains Professor Kołaczkowski.

J Med Chem 2025

The compound NLX-266 selectively activates the ERK signaling pathway – associated with therapeutic effects – and exhibits exceptionally favorable pharmacological properties in in vivo models.

The team of scientists from our Faculty discovered that the main drug candidate (a preparation being tested to determine its potential action as a medicine) – NLX-266 – not only works effectively in animal models but also possesses good pharmacokinetic properties.

“We believe that this approach can open the door to faster and more effective therapies for depression and Parkinson’s disease,” continues Kołaczkowski. The publication, titled “Discovery of NLX-266, an Orally Available and Metabolically Stable ERK1/2-Biased 5-HT1AR Agonist with Superior Antidepressant and Antiparkinsonian Activity,” is available on the pubs.acs.org website.