Panacea's second therapeutic program is developing novel products to treat diseases affecting the central nervous system. The first indication will involve drugs to treat or minimize damage to the brain as a result of stroke and other ischemic conditions. In light of the growing elderly population most at risk of ischemic stroke, and the lack of practical and broadly effective therapeutic options, the need for therapeutic treatments that can reduce the short- and long-term consequences of this disease is critical and growing.

Drugs designed to regulate and/or reverse the neurodegenerative signaling cascade are likely to be of great benefit for neuronal protection and preservation of brain function. These drugs would likely be utilized in tandem with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) therapy in the treatment of stroke. Furthermore, since this signaling cascade also plays a major role in several other neurodegenerative disorders, these drugs may potentially be effective in treating other chronic disorders of the central nervous system such as Alzheimer's Disease, Acute Lateralizing Sclerosis, and others.

The neurodegenerative signaling cascade is complex and agents that function to inhibit and/or reverse it are often referred to as neuroprotectants. There are multiple points at which neuroprotectants may function within the neurodegenerative signaling cascade including antagonism of glutamate receptors, blocking of Ca⁺⁺ or Na+ channels, Ca⁺⁺ chelation, free radical scavenging, inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, suppression of apoptosis, blocking of the inflammatory process, etc. A number of compounds representing each of these classes have entered clinical trials, most with little to no positive outcome. However, most of these compounds function via a single mechanism and current theories suggest that efficacious neuroprotection will require the use of either a combination of these compounds or novel agents that can affect multiple steps in the neurodegenerative signaling cascade.