Autobahn Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing restorative treatments for people affected by neuropsychiatric disorders, today announced the presentation of new preclinical data for elunetirom (ABX-002), the company’s lead asset currently in Phase 2 clinical development for adjunctive major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar depression, at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) Annual Meeting taking place in Miami Beach, Florida.
“The findings we are sharing today build on previously presented preclinical data and provide a more complete mechanistic picture showing that elunetirom directly engages key gene programs, including PGC-1α, NRF2, and BDNF, that govern mitochondrial biogenesis, ATP production, and neuroplasticity in the brain, even in the presence of cellular stress,” said Jason Harris, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer for Autobahn. “This novel mechanism of restoring brain energy production while strengthening neuronal connectivity gives us increased confidence in elunetirom’s differentiated potential to improve neurobiological health and deliver a meaningful treatment option for patients with MDD and bipolar depression, including those with atypical depression, a highly prevalent and underserved subgroup with metabolic features relevant to bioenergetic dysfunction.”
The preclinical data demonstrates that elunetirom and its active metabolite produce significant improvements across multiple measures of neuroplasticity and mitochondrial health, including neurogenesis, neurite outgrowth, synaptogenesis, and mitochondrial biogenesis. The magnitude of these effects was comparable to those achieved with the positive control brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; 50 ng/mL), a master regulator of synaptic plasticity. Notably, elunetirom’s effects on mitochondrial biogenesis and synaptogenesis were preserved in the presence of Aβ 1-42, a well-established neuronal insult, indicating its potential to restore and protect neuronal health under conditions of cellular stress. These therapeutic effects appear to be the direct result of elunetirom’s actions on the genes that drive restorative bioenergetics and neuroplasticity in the brain, including Ppargc1a (PGC-1α), Nfe2l2 (NRF2), and Bdnf (BDNF).
Elunetirom is currently being evaluated as a potential adjunctive treatment for MDD in the ongoing Phase 2 AMPLIFY study and for bipolar depression in the ongoing Phase 2 AMPLIFY-BD study. Autobahn anticipates reporting topline data from AMPLIFY-BD and AMPLIFY in the second and third quarter of 2026, respectively.
MDD is the third most common cause of disability worldwide, affecting more than 21 million adults in the United States, and bipolar depression affects an additional 7 million adults. More than half of patients across both conditions do not achieve adequate relief with currently available therapies, underscoring the urgent need for treatments with novel mechanisms of action that address the underlying neurobiology of depression.
ASCP Poster Presentation Details
Title: Elunetirom, a First-In-Class, Brain-Targeting, Antidepressant Candidate in Ph2 Development, Triggers Robust Bioenergetic and Neuroplastic Improvements in Preclinical Studies
Session Type: Late-Breaking Poster
Date: May 27, 2026
Time: 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m. ET
Presenter: Jason Harris, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Autobahn Therapeutics, Inc.
About Elunetirom
Elunetirom (ABX-002) is an investigational, oral, once daily, brain-penetrant small molecule prodrug that targets CNS thyroid hormone receptors (CNS-TRs). Elunetirom is believed to uniquely boost energy and plasticity in the brain through improving mitochondrial health, increasing cellular energy production, and driving neuroplastic changes in the CNS, offering a potentially fundamentally different mechanism to treat depression and other CNS disorders. Elunetirom is designed to enhance beneficial neurobiological activity at CNS-TRs while also reducing the liabilities of peripheral thyroid hormone receptor activity from the administration of synthetic thyroid hormone (e.g., triiodothyronine, T3), a treatment which has shown efficacy in numerous placebo-controlled human studies across MDD and bipolar disorder depression. In nonclinical and clinical studies, elunetirom has demonstrated optimized PK properties, target engagement in brain regions associated with depression, and an acceptable safety and tolerability profile. Elunetirom is being evaluated in clinical studies as a potential adjunctive treatment for MDD and bipolar depression.
About Autobahn Therapeutics
Autobahn Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing a portfolio of neuropsychiatric clinical candidates leveraging its brain-targeting chemistry platform. Autobahn aims to unlock new therapeutic opportunities through precision tuning of CNS exposure, pursuing validated clinical and biologic targets, and guiding development with biomarkers. The company’s pipeline is led by elunetirom, a CNS thyroid hormone receptor (CNS-TR) agonist being developed as a potential adjunctive treatment for people with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder depression, including those with atypical depression, a highly prevalent and underserved subpopulation of depression. For more information, visit www.autobahntx.com.
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