Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF) Antagonists

Inventors: Jean Rivier and Wylie Vale
Potential Uses: CNS, GI, Drug Discovery and Development
Drugs to activate CRF receptors based on peptide antagonists

The inventions relate to antagonists of the CRF hentetracontapeptides, as well as to members of the larger family of CRF-like peptides, to pharmaceutical compositions containing such CRF antagonists, and to methods of treating mammals using such CRF antagonists. CRF antagonists may be used to treat anxiety, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, immune suppression, Alzheimer's disease, hemorrhagic stress, drug addiction and withdrawal symptoms, and fertility problems. In addition, such CRF antagonists can provide the basis for valuable methods for drug screening in order to detect even more potent molecules that will bind to and/or activate CRF receptors.