Archer Pharmaceuticals : New Pharmaceutical Company to Target Alzheimer's Disease

Oct. 21, 2008 - A team of world-renowned scientists announced the launch of Archer Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a new company that will use modern technologies for the identification of novel treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
Archer Pharmaceuticals, Inc., led by Chief Executive Officer Michael Mullan, M.B.B.S., Ph.D. and Chief Technical Officer Fiona Crawford, Ph.D., was created based on the groundbreaking research that their team has been conducting in Florida for the past five years.
Archer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has several compounds that are ready to enter clinical development, including ARC029 and ARC031. These compounds have been manufactured at the Sarasota-based facility to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory standards (GMP). Both are targeted at the reduction of soluble amyloid proteins in the brain -- thought by many to be the main culprits in degeneration of neurons in the brains of Alzheimer's disease sufferers. In addition, Archer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has several other agents in the preclinical stage, including Gamma Secretase Inhibitors and BACE Inhibitors. These approaches are designed to attack the Alzheimer's disease soluble amyloid in different ways, providing complementary approaches to the lead compounds.
ARC029 was selected from approximately 2,000 agents as Archer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s first-line treatment for Alzheimer's because it was one of the most proficient at lowering amyloid levels in preclinical models. In these models ARC029 reduces brain amyloid levels by largely unexplored biological mechanisms... Archer Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

GlaxoSmithKline and AFFiRiS : exclusive licence and option agreement for therapeutic Alzheimer’s disease candidate vaccines

23 October 2008 - GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. (GSK) and AFFiRiS GmbH announced the execution of a collaboration agreement granting GSK exclusive rights to AFFiRiS’s Alzheimer’s disease vaccine programmes, aimed at treating Alzheimer’s by targeting beta-amyloid.

As part of the agreement, GSK is acquiring exclusive rights to develop and commercialise two Alzheimer’s disease vaccine candidates that are based on AFFiRiS AFFiTOPE technology and are currently in Phase I clinical development. AFFiRiS is also granting GSK an exclusive option to develop and commercialise alternative Alzheimer’s disease vaccine candidates which are in preclinical development... GlaxoSmithKline's Press Release - [PDF] AFFiRiS' Press Release -

deCODE : IND for DG071, a Novel PDE4 Modulator Being Developed for Alzheimer’s and Other Cognitive Disorders

October 3, 2008 – deCODE genetics (Nasdaq:DCGN) announced the filing of an investigational new drug (IND) application for DG071, the company’s novel small-molecule modulator of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The compound is being developed as a new and potentially safer means of targeting PDE4 to combat memory loss and cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders in which neural signaling is reduced or impaired. In animal models, DG071 has been shown to significantly improve learning and long- and short-term memory at doses that offer a wide margin for safety and tolerability. The compound has the potential to eliminate the nausea that limits the utility of previous PDE4 inhibitors. deCODE plans to advance the clinical development of DG071 with a strategic partner... deCODE genetics' Press Release -

Neuronascent : Multiple Fundings for Its Neurogenesis Therapeautic Programs

October 13, 2008 – Neuronascent, Inc. announced that the Company has received funding from multiple sources to further the development of its novel, neurogenic compounds targeting Alzheimer’s disease, depression and ischemia...
...The company’s lead compounds, currently in preclinical testing, aim to replace damaged neurons, restore neurons critical to cognition and memory and enhance neuroprotection against neurodegenerative diseases. Results from recent animal studies show a reversal of cognitive loss in aged mice to young levels... [PDF] Neuronascent's Press Release -

Taconic and Samaritan Pharmaceuticals : Availability of New Rat Model to Study Alzheimer's Disease

October 1, 2008 - Rapid Time to Disease State Makes Model Highly Valuable to Researchers - Taconic, one of the largest laboratory rodent providers in the world, together with Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC BB:SPHC.OB), a biopharmaceutical company committed to commercializing new innovative therapeutic drugs, announced the partnering of Samaritan Pharma's Alzheimer's rat model designed to test new, promising drugs for Alzheimer's disease to Taconic Farms. This rat model is now available exclusively through Taconic.

Developed by Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, the Samaritan FAB Rat Model induces Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia occurring in the elderly. The model is groundbreaking in that it offers significant advantages over other options previously available for the study of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

Since only an estimated 5% of all Alzheimer's cases are passed on genetically, the use of genetically modified mouse models poses limitations that are avoided by the FAB model. In addition, the new model requires a significantly shorter time to the disease state, only four weeks, as compared to the much lengthier process required to age transgenic mice... Taconic's Press Release -

Cellumen : Partners with Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation to Develop New Assays for Early Treatment of Alzheimer

September 30, 2008 - Collaboration Will Guide Innovation for Development of Assays to Treat Complex Disease; Cellular Systems Biology Approach to Enable More Physiologically Relevant Drug Screening - Cellumen, Inc. announced an agreement with the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) to apply Cellumen’s Cellular Systems Biology (CSB) technology to create a cellular model of Alzheimer’s disease.

The main objective of the partnership is for Cellumen to develop a panel of CSB assays, as well as biosensors of key protein:protein interactions, that reveal the activity of multiple targets and pathways implicated in Alzheimer’s disease in an intact, functioning cellular system... [PDF] Cellumen's Press Release -

Link Medicine : $40 million Series C Financing to Accelerate Development of First Disease-Modifying Treatments for Neurodegenerative Disorders

September 30, 2008 - Co-led by Clarus Ventures and SV Life Sciences,the Financing will Advance Preclinical and Clinical Programs - Link Medicine Corporation, a privately held biotechnology company advancing novel approaches for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, announced that it has obtained $40 million of Series C equity financing to help move its lead preclinical programs into human clinical testing. The round was funded by two leading biotechnology investors – Clarus Ventures and SV Life Sciences.

Link Medicine, founded in March 2005, is focused on developing the first disease-modifying therapies for the treatment of several neurodegenerative diseases – including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The company is pursuing innovative approaches to target a common feature of these disorders - the buildup in nerve cells of incorrectly folded, aggregated and ultimately neurotoxic proteins... Link Medicine Corporation's Press Release -

TheraGenetics : Agreement with King’s College London to Participate in AddNeuroMed Consortium to Identify Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease

September 10^th, 2008 - Company will provide pharmacogenetic testing for Alzheimer’s patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors to determine response to treatment - TheraGenetics Limited, a personalized medicine diagnostics company that is developing and commercializing a portfolio of pharmacogenetic diagnostic tests to guide and improve the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, announced an agreement with King’s College London for its participation in the AddNeuroMed Consortium to identify biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease that can be used to determine patient response to medications. TheraGenetics will undertake a pharmacogenetic study of Alzheimer’s patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors in the study... TheraGenetics' Press Release -

QuantRx Biomedical : FluoroPharma, Inc. to Report Preclinical Data on Alzheimer’s Disease

September 9, 2008 – QuantRx® Biomedical Corporation (OTCBB:QTXB), a broad-based diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative diagnostic products based on its patented technology platforms for the worldwide healthcare industry, broadcasts that QuantRx’s FluoroPharma, Inc. announced that Dr. David Elmaleh, FluoroPharma’s founder and Chief Scientific Advisor, will report on two preclinical studies demonstrating the potential of novel Positron Emission Tomography (PET) molecular imaging agents for detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and prostate cancer at the World Molecular Imaging Congress, in Nice, France on September 10-13, 2008...
QuantRx Biomedical's Press Release - FluoroPharma's Press Release -

Memory Pharmaceuticals : Phase 1 Multiple Ascending Dose Study of R4996/MEM 63908

Sept. 26, 2008 - Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: MEMY) announced that it has completed its Phase 1 multiple ascending dose study of R4996/MEM 63908 in healthy volunteers. The multiple ascending dose study is the fourth and final study in the Company's Phase 1 program for R4996/MEM 63908, a partial agonist of the nicotinic alpha-7 receptor being developed in collaboration with Roche. Memory Pharmaceuticals expects to report top-line results from the entire Phase 1 program in the fourth quarter of 2008.


"We conducted a robust and comprehensive Phase 1 program for R4996/MEM 63908 during which over 100 volunteers took R4996/MEM 63908. The data from these studies will provide us and our partner Roche with important insights into the safety, dosing and appropriate development path for the compound," stated Stephen Murray, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Memory Pharmaceuticals. "R4996/MEM 63908, the second compound in our nicotinic alpha-7 receptor program, has the potential to address serious cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, and we look forward to analyzing the data from these studies."... Memory Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

Baxter : Phase III Trial for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

September 22, 2008 — Baxter Healthcare Corporation announced initiation of a Phase III clinical trial following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of its investigational new drug application to evaluate GAMMAGARD LIQUID [Immune Globulin Intravenous (IGIV)], marketed as KIOVIG in European Union, for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. This trial is expected to be the first of two pivotal Phase III trials required to support filing for regulatory approval for GAMMAGARD LIQUID as a potential treatment for the disease.

The Phase III trial is a prospective, 18-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two dose-arm, parallel study in 360 subjects of both genders, ages 50 to 89 years old, with dementia of mild-to-moderate severity. The study will determine whether GAMMAGARD LIQUID treatment results in a significantly slower rate of decline of cognitive and other functions compared to placebo. Approximately 40 U.S. leading academic centers have been identified and will begin clinical trial enrollment within the next several weeks... Baxter Healthcare's Press Release -

Xel Pharmaceuticals : Successful Completion of Prototype Once-A-Week Huperzine A Transdermal Patch for Alzheimer's Disease

September 10, 2008 — Xel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the completion of the development of its once-a-week Huperzine A transdermal patch for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The prototype transdermal patch can deliver 400–800 mcg of Huperzine A per day for up to seven days. Huperzine A is a naturally occurring alkaloid found from the club moss Huperzia serrata that has been used for decades in China as a prescription medication for the treatment of dementia. Huperzine A is a potent, highly selective and reversible inhibitor of acetyl cholinesterase. Additionally, Huperzine A has anti-oxidative properties and possesses neuro-protective properties against glutamate that induce neuronal toxicity at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor... Xel Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

Memory Pharmaceuticals and Roche : R3487/MEM 3454 Development Program

Sept. 17 , 2008 - Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: MEMY) announced that it has amended its nicotinic alpha-7 receptor agonist agreement with Roche to expand the Phase 2 development program for R3487/MEM 3454 in cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS).

Memory Pharmaceuticals is currently conducting a Phase 2 trial of R3487/MEM 3454 in CIAS, and the companies have agreed to expand the study to allow for an increase in the target number of patients enrolled in the trial to up to approximately 212 patients, which will provide for a more robust data set and increase the potential for the study to facilitate advancing the compound into a pivotal trial. In addition, Roche has notified Memory Pharmaceuticals that it intends to initiate a Phase 2 trial of R3487/MEM 3454 in Alzheimer's disease starting either at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2009... Memory Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

AstraZeneca and Targacept : top-line results from Phase IIb study of AZD3480 in Alzheimer’s disease

September 15, 2008 – AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) and Targacept, Inc. announced that results from the Phase IIb clinical trial of AZD3480 (TC-1734) conducted by AstraZeneca in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease were inconclusive.

In the 12-week placebo-controlled study, known as the Sirocco trial, neither the active comparator donepezil nor AZD3480 met the trial’s criteria for statistical significance on the primary outcome measure, ADAS-Cog (Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – Cognition Subscale.) Both results were impacted by an improvement in the placebo group.

At two of the three doses tested, AZD3480 showed an improvement on the secondary outcome measures ADCS-CGIC (Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study – Clinical Global Impression of Change, a 7-point scale), a widely accepted measure of clinician assessment of change in patients’ behavior and ability to function, and MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination, a 30-point scale), a quantitative cognition scale commonly used by neurologists in a clinical setting. Of the three AZD3480 doses, the middle dose performed best on both measures (0.5 point improvement, ADCS-CGIC and 0.9 point improvement, MMSE). Donepezil also showed an improvement on ADCS-CGIC (0.2 point improvement) and the MMSE (1.0 point improvement). Neither donepezil nor AZD3480 showed improvement in any domain of the Cognitive Drug Research computerized test battery in the pooled dataset of all subjects... AstraZeneca's Press Release - Targacept's Press Release -

Pfizer and Medivation : Global Agreement to Co-Develop and Market Dimebon for the Treatment of Alzheimer's and Huntington's Diseases

Sep 03, 2008 - Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) and Medivation, Inc.(NASDAQ: MDVN) announced that they have entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize Dimebon, Medivation's investigational drug for treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. Dimebon currently is being evaluated in an international, confirmatory Phase III trial in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.
Under the terms of the agreement, Medivation will receive an up-front cash payment of $225 million. Medivation also is eligible to receive payments of up to $500 million upon the attainment of development and regulatory milestones plus additional undisclosed commercial milestone payments. Medivation and Pfizer will collaborate on the Phase III program in Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease development and regulatory filings in the United States. The companies will share all U.S. development and commercialization expenses along with U.S. profits/losses on a 60 percent/40 percent basis, with Pfizer assuming the larger share of both expenses and profit/losses. In addition, Medivation will co-promote Dimebon to specialty physicians in the U.S...


... Alzheimer's disease leads to the death of brain cells and the loss of nerve connections in areas of the brain that govern memory, thinking and behavior. Alzheimer's disease gradually destroys a person's memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry-out daily activities. No currently marketed Alzheimer's disease drug appears to stop brain cell death and prevent or restore lost nerve connections.
Dimebon is an orally-available, small molecule that has been shown to inhibit brain cell death in preclinical models relevant to Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, making it a potential treatment for these and other neurodegenerative conditions. Based on preclinical data generated to date, Dimebon appears to improve the function of mitochondria, the energy generators in cells that play a vital role in governing brain cell health, growth and overall function. Dimebon also has been shown to stimulate the outgrowth of nerves from brain cells, or neurites, a process that is believed to play an important role in restoring or generating new brain cell connections... Medivation's Press Release - Pfizer's Press Release -

Ablynx : BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM EXTENDS RESEARCH COLLABORATION WITH ABLYNX FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

21 August 2008 ­ - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX], a pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies, a novel class of antibodyderived therapeutic proteins, announced that the Alzheimer’s disease collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim was proceeding well and therefore the research funding has been extended for another year.


In January 2007 Boehringer Ingelheim and Ablynx announced that they had entered into a $265 million worldwide research and licensing agreement to discover and develop new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease using Ablynx’s Nanobodies ® , a novel class of therapeutic proteins. The deal also included a joint research programme with Ablynx scientists. Boehringer Ingelheim will be solely responsible for the development, manufacture and commercialization of any products resulting from the collaboration. As part of the collaboration, Ablynx received an upfront fee and will receive development and commercial milestones as well as undisclosed royalties based on net sales... [PDF] Ablynx's Press Release -

CogState and United BioSource : Strategic Partnership to Support Cognitive Assessment in Clinical Research

July 28, 2008. United BioSource Corporation (UBC) and CogState Ltd. are pleased to announce that they have entered into a strategic partnership to facilitate the use of cognitive testing within clinical trials for pharmaceutical and life sciences companies . Customers will be able to leverage CogState's scientific and software capabilities with UBC's global operations to support full scale clinical development programs.

Cognitive impairment is a defining feature of many psychiatric and neurological diseases including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, ADHD, depression and stroke. Consequently, improving cognition has become an important outcome for new treatment strategies in these conditions, increasing the need for sensitive measures, assays and analyses that can be used to guide decisions about cognition. Furthermore there is also a need for processes and systems to cost-effectively manage the use of cognitive assessments in multi-national clinical development programs... United BioSource Corporation's Press Release - CogState's Press Release -

Anavex Life Sciences : new findings at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2008 (July 26-31, 2008, Chicago, USA)

June 24, 2008 - Anavex Life Sciences Corp. ("ANAVEX") (OTCBB AVXL) announces its participation at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2008 (July 26-31, 2008, Chicago, USA), where it will present results obtained with ANAVEX 1-41 demonstrating a protective effect against the neurotoxicity of amyloid (beta)25-35 peptide (A(beta)25-35) in mice. This peptide is used to mimic the neurodegenerative processes found in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and help identify the neuroprotective effects of the ANAVEX compound in order to establish its potential for further development.

The two outstanding aspects of the results to be presented are:

1) The very low doses of ANAVEX 1-41 (30-100 micrograms/kg, ip) at which we attain neuroprotective results, indicating significantly greater potency than other pharmacological agents. The neuroprotection was specifically assessed in the hippocampus, an area highly implicated in Alzheimer's disease. This very significant neuroprotective activity of ANAVEX 1-41 was found to be related to its combined sigma-1 and muscarinic effects.

2) The novel anti-apoptotic mechanism of ANAVEX 1-41 that was attained at extremely low doses of ANAVEX 1-41 (100-fold below the threshold for unwanted muscarinic effects). Apoptosis is the predominant pathophysiological aspect of the brain degeneration in AD, and protection against this process could be an important therapeutic strategy. In particular, the inositol triphosphate receptors calcium channels (IP3R) upregulation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress sensors modulation maintained the ER and the mitochondrion in the unfolded protei response (UPR) adaptative status and protected against the triggering of apoptotic processes.

Unlike the challenge of pro-amyloid and anti-amyloid theories of AD, Anavex Life Sciences' SIGMACEPTOR™ Discovery Platform sigma-1 activator molecules target neuron structures (ER, mitochondrion) with the goal of preventing the neurodegenerative action of the disturbed biochemical pathways and channels (UPR, IP3R, Bcl-2, apoptosis), which recently emerged as putative crucial factors in AD as well as many other neurodegenerative diseases... Anavex Life Sciences' Press Release -

Lilly : Phase II Data on Lilly's Antibody Show It Affects Amyloid Beta, a Protein Believed To Be Associated with Alzheimer's Disease

July 30, 2008 - Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced interim results of its Phase II study of LY2062430, an investigational anti-amyloid beta monoclonal antibody for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. In this study, intravenously administered LY2062430 bound to the amyloid beta protein, resulting in increased amounts of amyloid beta in participants' blood and cerebrospinal fluid. These and other results suggest that by binding to soluble amyloid beta proteins, LY2062430 may begin to dissolve the amyloid plaques that are present in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. While the precise cause of Alzheimer's disease is not known, it has been shown that people with this disorder have an excess of amyloid beta plaque in the brain, particularly in the regions associated with memory. It is theorized that decreasing the total amount of amyloid plaque and other forms of the amyloid beta protein in the brain may result in slowing of the disease progression. Importantly, LY2062430 was well tolerated with no evidence of treatment-related brain inflammation, bleeding or other side effects. The findings from this Phase II study were presented today at the Alzheimer's Association's 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) in Chicago.

In this randomized, controlled trial, researchers evaluated the safety and tolerability of LY2062430 administered intravenously in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in healthy volunteers. They assessed the effects of the antibody on levels of amyloid beta in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid, as an indirect measure of the effect of the antibody on amyloid beta present in the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid, which surrounds the brain and spinal cord, is thought to provide important biomarker data in addition to that obtained from blood. Amyloid plaques, the pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, are composed largely of aggregated amyloid beta proteins. Amyloid plaques or other types of the amyloid beta protein are thought ultimately to disrupt normal nerve cell function in the brain, leading to the dementia that characterizes Alzheimer's disease... Eli Lilly's Press Release -

Prana Biotechnology : Neuron to Publish PBT2 preclinical research

July 10, 2008 – Prana Biotechnology Ltd (NASDAQ: PRAN, ASX: PBT) announced the publication of key research findings with its lead Alzheimer's Disease drug, PBT2. The article titled “Rapid restoration of cognition in Alzheimer's transgenic mice with 8-hydroxyquinoline analogs" [full text] is associated with decreased interstitial Abeta” appears in the current edition of the prestigious scientific journal Neuron, and can be viewed online [abstract].

The key findings reported are:

- PBT2 profoundly and rapidly improved cognition in transgenic mice.
- PBT2 prevented the formation of soluble Abeta oligomers, the form of Abeta believed to be the most toxic.
- PBT2 substantially reduced the amount of all forms of Abeta in the transgenic mouse brain, over a nine week period.
- PBT2, within hours of oral administration, significantly lowered soluble (interstitial) Abeta in the brain, sampled using in vivo microdialysis.
- Using a well established model for memory formation, PBT2 protected neurons in living brain tissue from the toxic effects of Abeta which impairs the signaling between neurons in Alzheimer’s disease... Prana Biotechnology's Press Release -

Allon Therapeutics : AL-108 human efficacy data presented to two ICAD 2008 scientific workshops

July 30, 2008 - Clinical trial data presented to two scientific workshops at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ICAD 2008) validate the therapeutic potential of addressing the “tangles” component of the classic Alzheimer’s “plaques and tangles” pathology.

The data from a clinical trial evaluating drug candidate AL-108 in 144 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, demonstrated that specific memory function improved in patients who were given AL-108 over 12 weeks...

...AL-108 is being developed by Allon Therapeutics (TSX: NPC), a Canadian biotechnology company located in Vancouver. The drug was discovered by Prof. Gozes of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. Prof. Collaborative research led by Prof. Gozes has been supported by Tel Aviv University and the U.S. National Institutes of Health... Allon Therapeutics' Press Release -

CoMentis and Astellas : Alzheimer’s Disease Research at International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD)

July 28, 2008 – CoMentis, Inc. and Astellas Pharma, Inc. announced that the companies will present six abstracts related to CTS21166 (ASP1702), a beta-secretase inhibitor for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, at the 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD) in Chicago, July 26-31. CTS21166 (ASP1702) is the first of several highly selective, potent and orally active beta-secretase inhibitors being developed by CoMentis and Astellas...

...
-Single Dose Administration of the β-secretase Inhibitor CTS21166 (ASP1702) Reduces Plasma Aβ40 in Human Subjects
Poster #: P4-422

-Phase 1 Safety and Pharmacokinetic Profile of Single Doses of CTS21166 (ASP1702) in Healthy Males
Poster #: P4-454

-Pharmacokinetic / Pharmacodynamic Analysis of Plasma Aβ40 Reduction in Human Subjects Produced by the β-secretase Inhibitor CTS21166 (ASP1702)
Poster #: P4-455

-BACE1 Inhibitor CTS21166 (ASP1702) Penetrates Brain and Reduces Aβ Pathology in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Advanced AD
Poster #: P4-456

-Pharmacological Profile of BACE1 Inhibitor CTS21166 (ASP1702)
Poster #: P4-457

-Oral Administration of the BACE1 Inhibitor CTS21166 (ASP1702) Improves Cognition and Reduces Brain Aβ in Tg2576 Transgenic Mice
Poster #: P4-458

... CoMentis' Press Release -

Intellect Neurosciences : Pivotal European Patent Related To Monoclonal Antibody Passive Immunization Treatment Of Alzheimer's Disease

July 31, 2008 - Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (ILNS) announced it has obtained a European patent relating to the Company's ANTISENILIN® monoclonal antibody platform for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The claims of the issued patent cover the ANTISENILIN® "free-end specific" antibodies that bind to beta amyloid and use of the antibodies in preventing or inhibiting the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The technology is designed to promote the clearance of beta amyloid which accumulates to reach toxic concentrations in the brains of Alzheimer's patients while reducing the potential for adverse side-effects.
Importantly, such drugs avoid binding and thereby potentially interfering with the functions of the Amyloid Precursor Protein, which is an important physiological regulator in the body implicated in controlling essential brain functions as well as blood coagulation.

The Company recently disclosed that it has granted a royaltybearing license to Wyeth and Elan Pharma International Ltd. regarding patents and patent applications related to antibodies and methods of treatment for Alzheimer's disease, including Bapineuzumab, currently in Phase 3 clinical trials... Intellect Neurosciences' Press Release -

Memory Pharmaceuticals : Positive Preclinical Data for MEM 68626 at ICAD 2008

July 30, 2008 - Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: MEMY) presented preclinical data for MEM 68626, its lead 5-HT6 antagonist drug candidate, at the 2008 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) in Chicago. The results demonstrate that MEM 68626 is effective in models of cognition that are considered predictive of efficacy in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In addition, the data suggests the potential for once-daily oral dosing with a favorable safety and toxicology profile...
...

The results were presented in a poster titled "Characterization of serotonin 5-HT6 receptor antagonists as putative drugs for age-related mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.".... Memory Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

EPIX Pharmaceuticals : 2008 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease

Jul 24, 2008 - EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EPIX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics through the use of its proprietary and highly efficient in silico drug discovery platform, today announced that it is scheduled to make two presentations at the 2008 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Chicago...


...In May 2008, EPIX announced the initiation of a Phase 2b proof-of-concept program for PRX-03140 that consists of two clinical trials - a six-month trial evaluating PRX-03140 in combination with donepezil and a three-month trial studying PRX-03140 as monotherapy. PRX-03140 is part of EPIX's strategic collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, which is conducted through GSK's Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD)... EPIX Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

Pfizer : Alzheimer’s Research and Pipeline at Upcoming Alzheimer’s Disease Medical Meeting

July 14, 2008 - Pfizer, Inc announced that it will present nine abstracts from its Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research and development program, including three on the two promising investigational therapies in the early stages of development, at the 2008 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD) in Chicago, July 26-31...

...Data from Pfizer to be presented at the meeting include:

Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE) Antagonist:

Pfizer is in collaboration with TransTech Pharma to develop and commercialize a portfolio of RAGE modulators. RAGE is a cell-surface receptor that may play a key role in multiple aspects of AD. Targeting RAGE for Alzheimer's is a novel approach and Pfizer is pioneering this approach in the clinic.

- Initial Phase II data on the safety and tolerability of Pfizer's oral RAGE antagonist known as PF-04494700...

- Preclinical data on the effect of PF-04494700 on chronic inflammation and buildup of amyloid plaques - two abnormal processes that are implicated in causing damage and death to brain cells in AD...

Humanized Anti-Amyloid Monoclonal Antibody: Preclinical data on the effect of PF-04360365, Pfizer's investigational monoclonal antibody in Phase 1 trials, on beta amyloid levels in the brains of mice...

Additional Preclinical Research: Pfizer will also present data on a potential blood biomarker that could help in identifying patients with AD; two studies on the role of the brain’s immune system in the formation of amyloid plaques; a potential method of using novel imaging and microscopic analysis to quantify AD neuropathology, and early research on an additional investigational Pfizer compound on the inhibition of an enzyme in the brain... Pfizer's Press Release -

Power3 Medical Products : Diagnostic Capabilities of the Company's Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers

Jul 10 2008 - Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (OTCBB:PWRM) announced the filing of a US Patent application for the diagnosis of multiple forms of Alzheimer’s disease by monitoring a panel of protein biomarkers in human blood serum. This latest filing further extends the reach of the recently filed US Utility Patent Application that identified 47 protein biomarkers useful in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Because early signs of AD are often hard to distinguish from normal signs of aging, most patients are not diagnosed until neuronal damage is extensive. A diagnostic test that will allow physicians to diagnose AD patients earlier and with greater accuracy would enable those patients to begin drug treatment when it could be most effective. More than 18 million people world-wide have Alzheimer’s disease. This figure is projected to nearly double to 34 million by 2025... Power3 Medical Products' Press Release -

Medivation : Publication in The Lancet of Dimebon Pivotal Trial Results in Alzheimer's Disease

July 17, 2008 - Dimebon Improved the Clinical Course of Alzheimer's Disease; Patients Experienced Statistically Significant Improvements in Memory and Thinking, Activities of Daily Living, Behavior and Overall Function - Medivation, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN) announced publication of the results of its first Alzheimer's disease pivotal clinical trial of the investigational drug Dimebon in the July 19, 2008 issue of The Lancet. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease treated with Dimebon experienced statistically significant improvements compared to placebo in all the key aspects of the disease: memory and thinking, activities of daily living, behavior and overall function.

After both six months and a full year of treatment, Dimebon-treated patients were significantly better than placebo-treated patients on all key aspects of the disease. The benefit on the primary endpoint, the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) at six months, was highly significant... Medivation's Press Release -

OLIGOMERIX funded by the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation to evaluate compounds active against tau oligomers, a novel target for therapeutic...

July 7, 2008 – OLIGOMERIX, Inc. announced receipt of a program related investment of $100K from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF). The focus of the program is to select compounds using its proprietary Alzheimer’s disease (AD) screening assays active against tau oligomers, and to evaluate these compounds in a tauopathy mouse model... [PDF] OLIGOMERIX's Press Release -

Myriad Genetics : Results of U.S. Phase 3 Trial of Flurizan in Alzheimer's Disease

Jun 30, 2008 - Flurizan Fails to Achieve Significance on Either Co-Primary Endpoint; Company Has Decided to Discontinue Its Development of Flurizan - Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) announced results of the Act-Earli-AD trial, an 18-month Phase 3 study of Flurizan (tarenflurbil) in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. The study did not achieve statistical significance on either of its primary endpoints -- cognition and activities of daily living... Myriad Genetics' Press Release -

biOasis Technologies : Patent Granted For a New Biomarker as an Aid to Diagnosing and Monitoring Alzheimer's Disease and for Identifying New ...

June 4, 2008 - biOasis Technologies Inc. (the “Company”), (TSX.V: BTI) announces that it has been granted Patent # 2,230,372 by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. “This is a significant and important patent for securing a large unmet need for a biomarker that can act as an aid to diagnosing and monitoring Alzheimer's disease and for identifying new therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease. The issuance of this patent follows double blind validation studies completed by unrelated groups of scientists, (Feldman et al; http://iospress.metapress.com/content/ryrmrkfwy9h5byh8 and Kim et al; http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v25/n1/full/1395638a.html ) thereby validating this emerging biomarker under the strictest experimental design and conditions.

The effectiveness of biomarker as an aid to diagnosing and monitoring Alzheimer's disease in bodily fluids is based on a noninvasive simply single immunoassay (blood test), to monitor the possible or probable appearance of the disease by measuring the biomarker on a yearly basis. Equally as significant, it may enable physicians to monitor the effectiveness of treatments and emerging therapeutics they are prescribing for their patients to combat the progression of this disease... biOasis Technologies' Press Release -

Metabolon : additional metabolomics patent

June 10, 2008 - Metabolon, Inc., the leader in metabolomics-driven biomarker discovery and analysis, announced that the company has been awarded another metabolomics patent. The newly issued patent further expands the domain of previously issued patents to include multiple disease states related to nervous systems disorders including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, depression and schizophrenia... Metabolon's Press Release -

Suven Life Sciences : Phase I Clinical Trials in Europe of SUVN-502 for Alzheimer’s disease

June 18, 2008 – Suven Life Sciences Ltd, a Drug Discovery and development company announced at Bio-2008, San Diego that they commenced Phase I clinical trials of SUVN-502, a potent, safe, highly selective, brain penetrant and orally active antagonist at a nonperipheral, CNS receptor site 5-HT6, intended for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders of memory and cognition like Attention deficient hyperactivity, Parkinson, Schizophrenia.

The study is being conducted at Basel, Switzerland under a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) approved by SwissMedic, the regulatory authority of Switzerland. The study is expected to be completed by Dec 2008.

SUVN-502 is the lead compound, selected from a series of more than 500 compounds, which were innovatively designed and developed using the combination of traditional and rational medicinal chemistry approaches... Suven Life Sciences' Press Release -

Avid Radiopharmaceuticals : First Phase II Trial of Novel Compound for Imaging Alzheimer’s Disease

June 9, 2008 – Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the start of a Phase II clinical trial studying 18F-AV-45, an investigational molecular imagin compound under development for imaging Alzheimer’s disease. 18F-AV-45 is used with positron emission tomography (PET) to allow visualization of the amyloid plaque deposits in the brain that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid plaque is thought to slowly accumulate in patients over years, eventually causing death of brain cells and dementia. This is the first large scale multi-center trial of an 18F-labeled PET molecular imaging agent for visualizing amyloid plaques... [PDF] Avid Radiopharmaceuticals' Press Release -

C2N Diagnostics : Alzheimer’s Research Tool

June 02, 2008 - C₂N Diagnostics announced the availability of its first commercial assay and research service for the measurement of neurally-derived biomolecules in vivo. The SILK-Aß™ assay refers to the use of stable isotope labeling and tandem mass spectrometry for the measurement of the kinetics, or metabolism, of amyloid-beta. Amyloid-beta is a small peptide implicated as a key mediator of Alzheimer’s disease.

Developed in the halls of the Washington University School of Medicine by Drs. Randall Bateman and David Holtzman, the proprietary technology behind C₂N’s SILK-Aß™ assay received recognition by Scientific American as one of the top 50 scientific advancements of 2006. Dr. Bateman is an Assistant Professor within the Department of Neurology and recipient of several distinguished awards for his innovative research that served the basis for C₂N’s platform technology. Dr. David Holtzman is the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and Chair of Neurology and Developmental Biology, and past recipient of the Potamkin prize and MetLife award for Alzheimer’s research... C₂N Diagnostics' Press Release -

Intellect Neurosciences Grants License for Certain Patents and Patent Applications to Wyeth and Elan Pharma International Ltd.

May 19, 2008 - Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ILNS), a biopharmaceutical company focused on development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD), announced that it has entered into a license agreement with Wyeth (NYSE: WYE)
and Elan Pharma International Ltd. ("Elan")
regarding certain of Intellect's patents and patent applications related to antibodies and methods of treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Wyeth and Elan may pay Intellect potential future milestone payments and royalties based on sales of potential products, if it is determined that they are covered by patents that issue from Intellect's patent applications... Intellect Neurosciences' Press Release -