Artelo’s SBFI103 Demonstrates Strong Anxiolytic And Antidepressant Effects Through Neurogenesis And Endocannabinoid Pathway Modulation

Artelo Biosciences has announced new peer-reviewed findings from Dr. Steven Laviolette’s laboratory at Western University, revealing that its proprietary FABP5 inhibitor, SBFI103, delivers strong anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects in a chronic stress preclinical model. The study, partially funded by Artelo and published in Neurobiology of Disease, evaluated the impact of intraperitoneal dosing, expanding on earlier work showing that localized brain delivery of SBFI103 improved fear extinction and reduced anxiety behaviours.

The research demonstrated that a single peripheral dose of SBFI103 significantly reduced anxiety- and depression-like responses in stressed rats without impairing locomotor activity or memory. The treatment also increased gene expression for several receptors in the endocannabinoid system, including CB2, GPR55, and TRPV1, within the hippocampus, a region central to emotional regulation.

Lead author, Taygun Uzuneser, Ph.D., commented, “We demonstrated that inhibition of FABP5 by SBFI103 represents a promising strategy to effectively elevate endocannabinoid-mediated neurotransmission and, in turn, ameliorate stress-induced affective and anxiogenic disturbances in rats. Remarkably, FABP5 inhibition powerfully prevented the impacts of chronic stress on adult hippocampal neurogenesis and neurotrophic signaling disturbances, demonstrating a unique neurobiological mechanism by which indirect modulation of the endocannabinoid system can prevent stress-induced pathophysiology.”

In addition, the study found that SBFI103 counteracted stress-related changes in molecular markers associated with depression and prevented the decline in hippocampal neurogenesis caused by chronic stress. Maintaining neurogenesis is considered important for restoring mood stability and cognitive function, underscoring the potential therapeutic relevance of these results.

“These findings add important validation to the therapeutic potential of our FABP5 inhibitor platform,” said Gregory D. Gorgas, Chief Executive Officer of Artelo. “The demonstration that SBFI103 can reverse stress-induced behavioral and neurobiological impairments significantly strengthens the scientific rationale for advancing new FABP5 inhibitors such as SBFI103 into future human studies, as we have already successfully accomplished with ART26.12, the first selective FABP5 inhibitor to enter clinical studies.”

These findings suggest that systemically administered SBFI103 can influence key neural pathways involved in stress, anxiety, and depression, supporting its potential as a novel treatment approach. The study’s design, execution, and conclusions were conducted independently by the academic authors, with Artelo’s involvement limited to financial support.