22 May 2013 - 22 May 2013 - Danish drug major H Lundbeck A/S (CPH:LUN) reported Wednesday encouraging findings from four pre-clinical animal studies with its investigational drug, vortioxetine, intended as a therapy of major depression.

Vortioxetine acts by combining two complementary mechanisms, namely receptor activity modulation and reuptake inhibition.

The studies aimed to further examine the pharmacological profile of vortioxetine and its potential effects in models of depressive disorders on attention, memory and executive function.

The data demonstrated that the agent modulated GABA-ergic activity in a cellular model, as well as improved attention, memory and executive function in animal models. The results also revealed a different profile of vortioxetine compared with fluoxetine, escitalopram (SSRIs) and duloxetine (an SNRI), which were not active in these animal models.

The findings also indicated that the potential cognitive effects of the therapy in animals may be associated with its activity at specific serotonin receptors, the company noted.

Vortioxetine is currently being reviewed by the US FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).