Therapeutic Areas

Copy number variations (CNVs) are a type of genetic structural variation involving deletions or duplications of specific and relatively large (>1 kb) regions of DNA. Geneticists now recognize that CNVs and other rare structural variants contribute to the genetic basis of common diseases and disorders, including autism and schizophrenia.

Taconic offers neuropsychiatric disorder CNV models that develop distinct neurological and behavioral phenotypes. These models can be used to screen novel drug candidates for treating schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating rare neurological disorder characterized by motor neuron degeneration in the primary motor cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord. This leads to progressive muscular atrophy, weakness, and is eventually fatal¹. The superoxide dismutase1 (SOD1) gene has been implicated in the underlying disease mechanisms; tofersen, which inhibits the production of SOD1 was granted accelerated approval by the FDA. New treatments are urgently needed, but require robust clinical models.

Taconic Biosciences is proud to offer the SOD1 rat for use in characterizing ALS and in drug discovery efforts. Onset of motor neuron disease typically occurs between 174 and 207 days and is accompanied by substantial loss of spinal motor cord neurons and marked increases in gliosis and degeneration of muscle integrity and function.

Taconic offers a panel of luciferase reporter mice to assay GPCR ligand binding and pathway activation in various tissues. Mice with CNS specific expression of CRE-Luc reporter can be used to isolate primary neurons (for in vitro studies) or for in vivo imaging studies to assay GPCR based signaling in the CNS. This platform can also provide rapid in vivo PK/PD profiling of compounds with quantitative data to compare pharmacological action.