If the festive season has left you feeling depleted and ready for a solid few nights in, cemented to the couch, you’re not alone. Social interactions can be draining at the best of times for my fellow introverts, but it’s even tougher for those with Social Anxiety Disorder. 

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (commonly referred to as the DSM-5) Social Anxiety Disorder is described as “a marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others.”

Those suffering from this type of anxiety disorder struggle in situations such as social interactions, like having a conversation or meeting unfamiliar people, being observed for example- whilst eating or drinking and, performing in front of others. 

Socially anxious people will avoid social situations or endure them with feelings of intense fear and anxiety which are disproportionate to the actual threat posed by the situation. 

Until now, cognitive behavioural therapy has been the hallmark of anxiety disorder treatment however a major limitation is time. Put simply, therapy is a long term strategy to change thought patterns and behaviours. 

“Anxiety disorders are a significant burden for our communities and approximately 18 million adults suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder in the United States alone,” says Dr. Charles Taylor and Dr. Murray Stein, Professors in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California. 

“Patients will typically experience persistent and intense fear of social or performance-related situations when exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. They will often engage in avoidance behaviours to manage their fears, which can interfere with functioning, increase loneliness and social isolation, and diminish quality of life. There is a great unmet need for fast-acting, as needed treatments for these patients.”

Clinical stage biopharmaceutical company Bionomics (ASX: BNO) is seeking to provide a fast acting, acute treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder with their proprietary drug, BNC210. 

Now entering phase 2 clinical trials, BNC210 is a modulator of a particular receptor that plays a role in anxiety disorders like Social Anxiety Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Significant unmet need has seen the drug receive Fast Track designation by the US Food and Drug Administration for both indications. 

The PREVAIL study will assess the drug as a treatment for Acute Social Anxiety Disorder over 15-20 clinical sites in the US. Sites are currently recruiting after receiving ethics approval by regulators in November 2021. Participants will be randomly assigned one of three dosages which will be taken orally an hour before taking part in an anxiety inducing social behavioural task. Dosage levels will be compared against each other and placebo. 

Executive Chairman of Bionomics, Dr. Errol De Souza said: “The new tablet formulation of BNC210, which is rapidly absorbed and reached maximal concentrations in the blood in approximately one hour, is being evaluated in the PREVAIL study as an oral as-needed treatment for SAD patients to better cope with anticipated anxiety-provoking social interactions and other public settings.

“We look forward to taking advantage of the Fast Track designations for both SAD and PTSD treatment indications, and our goal is to report topline data in late 2022 for the PREVAIL study and by the middle of 2023 for the ongoing Phase 2b PTSD ATTUNE study”