Neurizon’s NUZ-001 Completes HEALEY Trial Enrolment as Veterinary Anthelmintic Monepantel Eyes ALS Breakthrough

Neurizon Therapeutics has completed enrolment in Regimen I of the prestigious HEALEY ALS Platform Trial with NUZ-001 — an oral repurposing of monepantel, the broad-spectrum sheep anthelmintic originally discovered and developed by the Novartis Animal Health research team before being acquired by Elanco, now marking a remarkable translational journey from veterinary parasitology to human neurodegeneration.

Melbourne-based Neurizon Therapeutics has completed enrolment in Regimen I of the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, a significant clinical milestone for NUZ-001, its lead ALS candidate built on monepantel — a compound with deep roots in the animal health industry.

Monepantel was originally discovered and developed by scientists at Novartis Animal Health, launched commercially as Zolvix for the treatment of parasitic nematode infections in sheep. Following Elanco’s acquisition of Novartis Animal Health in 2015, the compound and its associated intellectual property passed to Elanco, which subsequently granted Neurizon an exclusive global licence and supply agreement for NUZ-001’s human therapeutic development.

The HEALEY trial, designed to recruit approximately 160 patients across major US ALS centres, builds on Phase 1 data demonstrating NUZ-001’s safety, tolerability and early signs of biological activity. The FDA lifted a clinical hold on the programme following review of preclinical safety, manufacturing and quality information tied to Neurizon’s Elanco supply arrangement.

Neurizon is also developing an oral liquid formulation with ethics approval secured for a supporting Phase 1 study, addressing the practical challenge of swallowing difficulty in ALS patients as disease progresses.
The company will brief investors in Melbourne on 29 July, outlining trial status, supply arrangements and next milestones. For a clinical-stage biotech, execution — recruitment quality, data integrity and regulatory momentum — remains the core near-term value driver.