GoKawiilTakeda's narcolepsy drug Orzeyful sparks research into orexin agonists for other conditions
Following the August approval of Takeda's narcolepsy treatment Orzeyful (oveporexton), researchers are investigating whether orexin agonists could treat conditions beyond sleep disorders, including ADHD and other attention-related disorders. Takeda R&D president Andrew Plump compared the drug class's potential trajectory to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, which expanded from diabetes treatment into other therapeutic areas. The excitement builds on decades of research into orexins, brain peptides that influence sleep, mood, appetite and memory, first identified by scientists including Stanford's Luis de Lecea in the 1990s.