Focus Areas
SMPA is deeply committed to accelerating breakthroughs in psychiatry & neurology, oncology, urology, women’s health, rare disease, and cell & gene therapy to bring needed therapies to patients sooner.
Women's Health
Supporting science, medicine, and advocacy to improve the lives of people suffering from uterine fibroids, endometriosis, or infertility. We believe the first step to progress is understanding the problem.
Uterine Health Guide
We see people as more than the health conditions they are managing. To support those with questions about their uterine health, we created a series of resources to learn more about how to talk with healthcare providers and find support in the community.
Menstrual Mysteries—Mothers and Daughters Talk About Periods
Talking about periods can feel uncomfortable. But why is discussing something that millions of people experience still taboo? With this video series, we want to support open conversations around menstruation. When stigma keeps people quiet about periods, it can take longer to get care. To encourage these frank conversations, we invited mothers and daughters to talk openly with each other—and all of us—about periods.
Women's Health
Uterine Fibroids
Uterine fibroids, also known as uterine myomas or leiomyomas, are non-cancerous tumors that develop in the muscle of the uterus. Uterine fibroids may cause debilitating symptoms such as heavy and prolonged menstrual bleeding, anemia, and pelvic pain.
Women's Health
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the uterine lining is found outside the uterine cavity, commonly in the lower abdomen or pelvis. Endometriosis may cause debilitating symptoms such as dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain), non-menstrual pelvic pain, and dyspareunia (painful intercourse).
Women's Health
Infertility
Infertility is defined as the inability to get pregnant after 12 months of regular intercourse without use of contraception. Causes of infertility include ovulatory disorders, endometriosis, and abnormal sperm.
Urology
We are focused on making a meaningful difference for patients by developing and commercializing innovative therapies for a range of urologic conditions, beginning with overactive bladder.
Understanding Overactive Bladder
Overactive Bladder (OAB) is not a disease but a collection of symptoms that can significantly impact a person's quality of life. This condition is characterized by a frequent and sudden urge to urinate and other distressing symptoms.
Urology
Overactive Bladder (OAB)
For people with OAB, the symptoms of urgency, frequency (specifically the need to urinate eight or more times a day), and accidental leakage episodes can be disruptive and disturbing.
While OAB is not a life-threatening condition, coping with its daily symptoms can certainly be limiting. People living with symptoms of OAB may not realize that it's more common than they might think.
Psychiatry
We are committed to the research and discovery of novel pathways and therapies to address some of the world’s most serious and persistent psychiatric conditions. Our goal is to develop therapies that transform the lives of people living with these conditions.
Psychiatry
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a chronic, serious, and often severely disabling brain disorder that affects more than 20 million people worldwide and approximately 1 million people in the U.S. It is characterized by positive symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking, as well as negative symptoms, such as lack of emotion, social withdrawal, lack of spontaneity, and cognitive impairment that includes problems with memory, attention, and the ability to plan, organize, and make decisions.
Psychiatry
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder affects approximately 12.6 million individuals in the U.S. and an estimated 29 million people worldwide. A person is usually diagnosed with bipolar disorder after experiencing at least one manic episode, with symptoms that are not better explained by another mental health condition, such as schizophrenia. Bipolar disorder is characterized by debilitating mood swings, interspersed with periods of stable mood and behavior. When individuals with bipolar disorder are experiencing symptoms, most tend to be depressed rather than manic.
Neurology
We explore the depths of the brain to develop solutions for neurological conditions that impact millions of people worldwide. This constant driver of innovation enables us to charter new paths to life-transforming treatments.
Neurology
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases globally, affecting approximately 50 million people worldwide. The condition is characterized by unpredictable seizures, which are caused by disturbances in the electrical activity in the brain. Someone is said to have epilepsy if they experience two or more unprovoked seizures separated by at least 24 hours or after one seizure with a high risk for more. It is estimated that up to 70% of people living with epilepsy could live seizure-free if properly diagnosed and treated.
Oncology
We dedicate our resources and talent to the pursuit of emerging, purposeful science in oncology through innovative research and industry-leading development.
Our team is relentless in their pursuit of life-changing discoveries. By integrating industry-leading research and development with a truly global network of experts, we aim to uncover the most impactful treatments of tomorrow.
Men with Prostate Cancer Find Support
One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. But sometimes men with prostate cancer find it difficult to talk about. This video series brought together men from diverse prostate cancer support groups to share their experiences and how being part of a community can be a source of strength. By confiding in other men with prostate cancer, they’ve found information and support.
Watch the video seriesOncology
Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is a potentially lethal disease that starts in the prostate gland in men. Most prostate cancer is diagnosed while men are asymptomatic. Symptoms of metastatic prostate cancer may include weight loss, bone pain, fatigue, and urinary symptoms.
Watch our video series: Men with prostate cancer find support
Rare Disease
We aim to develop life-altering medicines for rare diseases where either limited options exist or current options fail to address the underlying disease. After delivering a first-of-its-kind advancement to improve the lives of pediatric patients with congenital athymia, we are advancing promising therapies for rare respiratory diseases including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chemical lung injury.
Rare Disease
Pediatric Congenital Athymia
Pediatric congenital athymia is an ultra-rare condition in which children are born without a thymus, which may cause profound immunodeficiency, vulnerability to potentially fatal infections, and life-threatening immune dysregulation. Pediatric congenital athymia affects 17 to 24 infants born each year in the United States. In a natural history study, congenital athymia patients on supportive care alone did not survive beyond 2-3 years of age.
Pediatric congenital athymia is initially detected by T-cell deficiency observed in newborn screening for SCID (severe combined immune deficiency), which is now required in all 50 U.S. states. The “T” in T cell stands for thymus because it is where T cells are selected to fight infections or are destroyed if they have the potential to attack the body instead of invaders. SCID and congenital athymia are both primary immunodeficiency disorders, but they are distinct conditions.
Rare Disease
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease characterized by a thickening and constriction of the smooth muscle layer of pulmonary arteries that is in part driven by excess serotonin signaling. This causes remodeling of pulmonary arteries, which leads to an increase in blood pressure and workload for the heart over time. Over 50,000 people have been diagnosed with PAH (WHO Group 1) in the United States, and this disease is almost twice as common in women than men.
PAH is a rapidly progressive disease carrying an approximate 50 percent mortality rate at five years, with those affected typically succumbing to right ventricular heart failure. The condition is currently treated with vasodilators, which offer some benefit but fail to address the underlying vessel remodeling believed to be responsible for the disease’s high morbidity and mortality rates. Reducing peripheral serotonin production is a novel approach for the treatment of PAH and has the potential to halt or reverse pulmonary remodeling. We are developing our peripherally acting tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) inhibitor as an adjunctive treatment for PAH as our research suggests its mechanism of action is additive to the effects of standard of care.
Rare Disease
Chemical Lung Injury
Chemical lung injuries can result from the inhalation of noxious or irritant chemical gases (e.g., sulfur mustard, chlorine, ammonia, or components of vaping products) as well as other toxicants such as smoke and particulates. These injuries may be a result of intentional or accidental exposure and may cause lifelong disability or possibly death.
Incidence figures are difficult to calculate owing to the diversity of compounds that may cause lung injury and the settings in which such injury may occur, such as accidental exposure in industrial or home settings or via chemical attack. It has been estimated by the National Occupational Exposure Survey, conducted by the CDC, that at least one million U.S. workers are at risk of exposure to respiratory irritants, with injuries occurring more frequently at home.