Part 2: Let’s look toward a hopeful future!

Research today: On the path to discover treatments that promote greater wakefulness.

Sometimes, you save the best for last. Groundbreaking research was shared on the final day of the SLEEP 2025 conference.  Two sessions emphasized the importance of collaboration between researchers, pharmaceutical partners, and patient communities—and the critical role each of us can play by participating in and supporting research. 

At Narcolepsy Network, we’ve spent the past several years ensuring that you receive up-to-date information on clinical research—whether through digital channels, webinars, or in-person events. This is the time to shine a light on orexin basic research, which would not have been possible without National Institutes of Health funding. 

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the leading researchers driving this work forward: Dr. Mignot, Dr. Scammell, Dr. Maski, and many more. We are also deeply grateful to the pharmaceutical companies developing potential new treatments with orexin agonists. It truly takes a village—and significant investment—to make this kind of progress possible.

Tracking emerging science and collaborating with pharmaceutical and academic partners has become one of our top priorities. Why? Because we believe that people living with narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia deserve choices. Right now for people living with narcolepsy, many people still struggle to find the right medication and for people with IH, there is only one FDA approved treatment. Narcolepsy Network will continue to keep you informed so you can ask the right questions and, if you choose, take part in this important research that may help you, or could help others in the community.

Advances in the Development of Orexin Agonists

Chair: Kiran Maski, MD | Panelists: Richard Bogan, MD; JuliaChapman; Samantha Floam DMB; Sally Ibraham, MD; Logan Schneider, MD; Michael Thorpy, MD

In this compelling session, three companies—Centessa, Alkermes, and Takeda shared updates on their orexin agonist development programs. These updates, presented exclusively at SLEEP 2025, offered attendees a deeper appreciation for the complexity and dedication behind these innovative treatments.

Hypersomnia: New Drugs and New Data

Chair: Kiran Maski, MD | Panelists: Richard Bogan, MD; JuliaChapman; Samantha Floam DMB; Sally Ibraham, MD; Logan Schneider, MD; Michael Thorpy, MD

This session highlighted both  data on both FDA-approved treatments and new clinical trial data, with presentations from Alkermes, Avadel, Axsome, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

One notable highlight was the presentation of the CRESCENDO study, which explored the ongoing symptom burden experienced by patients with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1). Narcolepsy Network was proud to partner on this study with a 3rd party research firm, and thanks Axsome for sharing these important findings—it’s clear that there is still more work to be done to fully address the needs of those living with narcolepsy.