CORTICOTROPIN for PCOS
CORTICOTROPIN is listed by Open Targets as an early-phase (EARLY_PHASE_1) clinical candidate for PCOS acting as a melanocortin 2 receptor agonist.
Hypothesized mechanism
CORTICOTROPIN agonizes the melanocortin 2 (ACTH) receptor, modulating adrenal steroidogenesis relevant to androgen-related PCOS pathophysiology.
This is the model’s proposed mechanism from the sources on file, not a demonstrated causal pathway. How well the published record supports it is reflected in the rigor and plausibility dimensions of the score, and traced to the verbatim sources at the foot of the page.
How the score was reached, for this pair
The composite score is the sum of five dimensions, each scored 0 to 2 by the model from the evidence on file. Below is the sub-score this specific pair received on each, with what that dimension measures. It scored 3 of 10 overall, a exploratory reading, from a pathway rated exploratory in strength.
The model’s overall reasoning for this pair is the summary at the top of the page, and the mechanism it proposed is in the section above.
Scored for women. Female representation not stated — applicability to women uncertain (flagged for full text). (band F4, ×0.75).
Corroboration
Only a single source (Open Targets) and a single mechanistic line is provided, naming CORTICOTROPIN as an MC2R agonist clinical candidate for PCOS. No independent mechanistic lines converge; there is no corroborating data beyond the database listing.
Rigor
The single claim is a database annotation of clinical stage (EARLY_PHASE_1) and mechanism, with no human, animal, or in-vitro experimental data presented. No study design or model strength is described to support rigor.
Specificity
The claim specifies a precise molecular action: Melanocortin receptor 2 agonist acting on the melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R). This is a clearly defined single target and mechanism.
Plausibility
MC2R is the ACTH receptor driving adrenal steroidogenesis, which is mechanistically relevant to androgen excess in PCOS, lending some target-phenotype fit. However, an MC2R agonist would be expected to increase adrenal steroid output, so the directional benefit for PCOS is not established by the single claim.
Consistency
With only one claim there are no multiple signals to compare, so consistency cannot be meaningfully assessed; nothing contradicts, but nothing converges either.
Layers not covered for this pair
Not covered for this pair. This layer holds documented sex-specific pharmacokinetics for a limited set of drugs, and this compound is not among them yet. A blank here means the drug is not covered by the layer, not that no sex difference exists.
More on the sex-specific pharmacokinetics layer and its sources →Not covered for this pair. The cycle-phase layer is seeded for the strongest-evidence cases so far (PMDD), and this pair is not among them yet. A blank here means the pair is not covered by the layer, not that the effect was found to be phase-independent.
More on the cycle-phase layer and its sources →Source evidence · what the pipeline ingested
These are the sources the pipeline ingested to detect and score this signal, the published literature the model actually read, each tagged by study type. Where the model combined findings the claim is marked as a synthesis (S), and where the literature disagrees the contradiction is shown (!).
Every source below belongs to this signal’s evidence arm, Pathway insights. Whel reads each drug-condition pair through four such arms, each held to its own inclusion bar; a signal is surfaced through one of them.
- 1Per Open Targets (retrieved 2026-06-16), CORTICOTROPIN is a clinical candidate for PCOS (maximum clinical stage EARLY_PHASE_1); its mechanism of action is Melanocortin receptor 2 agonist on target melanocortin 2 receptor. Open Targets · mechanistic ↗
These are the verbatim sources the pipeline surfaced and read; they may not be the full published record for a pair, and the score reflects the strength and agreement of the evidence rather than its volume. The strength of these source types is what the rigor dimension of the score reads off. MATRIX, sex-specific pharmacokinetics, and cycle phase are separate layers the pipeline does not ingest, external cross-references reported beside the score, and they link to their own sources in their sections above.
The primary sources and pipelines this evidence is drawn from →