In a mutually beneficial deal, Roche has partnered with Seaside Therapeutics to develop disease-modifying therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders such as Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Roche will exclusively license patents covering the use of mGluR5 (metabotropic glutamate receptor 5) antagonists and will develop and commercialise these compounds, including Seaside’s STX107, for FXS and ASD. It has also obtained options to commercialise Seaside’s lead GABA-B (gamma-aminobutyric acid type B) agonist STX209 (arbaclofen), which is in Phase III for FXS and Phase IIb for ASD.