BRNI and Inverness Medical Innovations to Develop Commercial Test to Detect Early Alzheimer’s Disease

May 27, 2009 – The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) and Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (Inverness, NYSE:IMA) of Waltham, Massachusetts, a global leader in rapid diagnostics and health management, announced that they will work together to further develop and commercialize a diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease first discovered by scientists at BRNI.

The BRNI test, once fully commercialized, could dramatically change the time and way that the disease is treated. The agreement also marks the first major global private sector deal involving BRNI technology and science. Under the terms of the arrangement, Inverness will fund the development efforts to be conducted by BRNI over an initial three year period. Inverness has also obtained an option which, if exercised, will provide Inverness with certain rights to the technology developed for use in the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease... Inverness Medical Innovations' Press Releases -

CeNeRx BioPharma : Novel Drug Candidate for Prevention and Treatment of Neurodegeneration Disorders

June 16, 2009 -- CeNeRx BioPharma, Inc., a clinical stage company developing and commercializing innovative treatments for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), announced that it has obtained the rights to develop and market a novel agent for the prevention and treatment of neuropathies and neurodegenerative disorders. The drug candidate, CXB909, is a small molecule, orally active agent that enhances the effects of nerve growth factor (NGF). CeNeRx intends to initiate a Phase l trial of CXB909 for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) later this year...
...CXB909 is a downstream enhancer of the effects of nerve growth factor, an endogenously produced neurotrophic factor that is important for the function and survival of several types of
neurons. Both Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease involve the degeneration of certain neurons, and neuronal damage is also implicated in the peripheral neuropathies associated with diabetes, kidney disease, cancer chemotherapy and other conditions. In preclinical studies, CXB909 enhanced the action of NGF in vitro, amplifying its activity almost seven-fold. CXB909 was neuroprotective in a variety of cellular assays and in animal models of neuropathies and neurodegenerative diseases, including chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, for which there is currently no approved treatment... [PDF] CeNeRx BioPharma's Press Release -