ExonHit, EHT 0202 Counters Scopolamine's Detrimental Effects on Cognition in Humans

March 25, 2008 - ExonHit Therapeutics, a drug and diagnostic discovery company, announced the results of a Phase 1 study assessing the effects of its lead compound, EHT 0202, on scopolamine-induced brain impairments in humans. ExonHit's EHT 0202 is a compound, with a novel mechanism of action, which has shown preclinical benefits on memory and neuronal loss and is currently tested in a Phase 2 clinical trial on Alzheimer disease (AD) patients.

Scopolamine interferes with the transmission of nerve impulses by acetylcholine, a substance to which it is structurally similar, thus depressing nervous system activity. Cognitive impairment due to central cholinergic dysfunction, or scopolamine administration, is measurable through electroencephalography (EEG) changes under both nonstimulus and stimulus conditions. A number of studies indicate that EEG is a sensitive measure of acetylcholine's activity and of the induced alterations elicited by scopolamine. In addition, scopolamine-induced EEG changes have been considered as possible biomarkers for AD as the impairment acetylcholine's activity is one of the landmarks of this disease... ExonHit Therapeutics' Press Release -

Cryo-Cell International : Umbilical Cord Blood Cell Therapy May Reduce Progression of Alzheimer`s Disease

March 27, 2008 – Stems cells derived from umbilical cord blood are showing early potential in fighting Alzheimer’s disease, according to results from a new preclinical study published in the March issue of Stem Cells and Development. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of South Florida and Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., found that targeted immune suppression using stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood reduced Alzheimer`s disease progression in a mouse model. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and incurable brain disease that affects more than five million people in the United States alone. The ongoing research project has been funded in part by Cryo-Cell International, Inc., an industry leader in stem cell innovation and one of the nation’s largest and most established family cord blood banks. Additional study sponsors are the National Institutes of Health’s STTR grant program, Florida High Tech Corridor Matching grant program, and the Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr. Alzheimer`s Center and Research Institute.”... Cryo-Cell International's Press Release -

Evotec's EVT 101 : to Penetrate the Brain in Man and to Modulate Brain Activity during the Performance of Cognitive Tasks

28 Mar 2008 - - Evotec (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT) is pleased to announce the preliminary findings of a double-blind, single-dose, 3-way cross-over study with its orally active NR2B subtype selective NMDA receptor antagonist, EVT 101......n addition, Evotec has satisfactorily completed dosing of its four week higher repeat dose study conducted in France. Encouragingly, initial findings regarding the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) penetration of EVT 101 assessed in a subgroup receiving EVT 101 showed that the compound demonstrated penetration into the CSF at levels predicted to inhibit NR2B receptors to a significantly higher amount than memantine at its therapeutic dose in Alzheimer's Disease... Evotec's Press Release -

Eisai, Application for Aricept Oral Jelly Formulation in Japan

March 14, 2008 - Eisai Co., Ltd. announced that the company submitted an application for a new oral jelly formulation of Aricept® (donepezil hydrochloride) in Japan. If approved, it will become the first Alzheimer's disease treatment available in an oral jelly formulation in the world.
Generally, Alzheimer's disease affects eldery population, and there are some patients who have difficulty swallowing a tablet or granule formulation with water due to the decline in their ability to swallow or the water enters into their trachea while taking the medication... Eisai's Press Release -

Neurobiological Technologies and Buck Institute, to Develop Novel Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease

March 3, 2008 - Neurobiological Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTII) and the Buck Institute for Age Research (Buck) announced today they have entered into a collaboration and exclusive license agreement to develop a novel therapy for Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Under the terms of the agreement Neurobiological Technologies will exclusively license certain patent rights related to a naturally occurring protein that has been shown in animals to reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.AD is a neurodegenerative disease that, in its most common form, occurs in people over 65 years old and is the most common cause of dementia afflicting 24 million people worldwide.
AD Research at the Buck Institute focuses on signal transduction pathways that may explain all of the different, yet seemingly opposed theories of AD, namely that AD is caused by either an overabundance of amyloid-B (AB) peptide, or neurofibrillary tangles that build up inside the nerve cells. Current studies at the Buck are focused on a naturally occurring protein that has been shown in both cell culture and mice to inhibit the production of amyloid-B (AB) peptides while simultaneously facilitating the growth and preservation of nerve fibers in the brain... Neurobiological Technologies' Press Release -

Bar Harbor BioTechnology : New Line of StellARrays

March 6, 2008 - Bar Harbor BioTechnology Inc. announced the launch of its new line of human StellARray™ products for gene expression research today. This initial offering of 43 different biological pathways for scientists to select from includes many major human diseases. Configured to perform gene expression or gene copy number experiments these new Real-Time PCR arrays are the first of their kind in the field of gene expression research.
"Scientists researching human diseases like obesity, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease have a new method for detecting subtle changes in how a group of genes are expressed. That could lead to a breakthrough in their research," says Robert Phelps, President of Bar Harbor BioTechnology Inc... Bar Harbor BioTechnology's Press Release -

Power3 Medical , Three Hundred Patient Clinical Validation Study of Its Nuropro(R) Diagnostic Test for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease

Mar 13 2008 - Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (OTCBB: PWRM), a leading proteomics company specializing in the development and commercialization of diagnostic tests for the early detection of breast cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, commenced a three hundred patient clinical validation study of its NuroPro diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease... Power3 Medical's Press Release -

Pharmatrophix Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation to Develop Drugs to Prevent Neurodegenerative Disease

January 22, 2008 - The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced that it is providing a biotechnology founder's grant of $300,000 to PharmatrophiX, a start-up biotechnology company dedicated to developing a drug to prevent neuronal degeneration and improve brain function.

PharmatrophiX is developing a series of small molecule compounds called "neurotrophin mimetics" that mimic the function of neurotrophins. Neurotrophins are naturally occurring proteins that are responsible for the development, health and survival of neurons. These mimetics are the most promising compounds to date that target the degeneration caused by the toxic protein beta-amyloid which kill neurons, impair memory and may be the cause of Alzheimer's disease... ADDF's Press Release -

Hunter-Fleming and Newron, continuation of phase II study for HF0220 in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

03/03/2008 - Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. (“Newron”, SWX: NWRN), a research and development company focused on novel CNS and pain therapies, and Hunter-Fleming Ltd., a private UK bio-pharmaceutical company developing new medicines to treat neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders, today announced that Hunter-Fleming has received a recommendation from the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) to continue a Phase II safety and tolerability study with HF0220 in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The recommendation is based on the results of an interim review of the study being undertaken by Hunter-Fleming. On February 9, 2008, Newron signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Hunter-Fleming.

The Phase IIa multi-centre, double blind placebo controlled, biomarker trial includes 40 patients in study centres in the UK and Sweden, who are treated for 28 days at different doses of HF0220... [PDF] Newron's Press Release -

Debiopharm's Debio 9902 SR in Alzheimer’s disease, Clinical Update

March 4, 2008 - Debiopharm Group (Debiopharm), a global independent biopharmaceutical development specialist focusing on serious medical conditions and particularly oncology, announced that following a meeting of the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), the Company received a recommendation to continue its Phase II BRAINz study with Debio 9902 SR (sustained release) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), without modification.

The DSMB’s objective is to monitor the well being and safety of patients participating in a study and to review the safety data throughout its duration... Debiopharm's Press Release -

Power3 Medical, Patent Application for Forty-Seven Protein Biomarkers

Mar 5 2008 -Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (OTCBB: PWRM), a leading proteomics company specializing in the development and commercialization of diagnostic tests for the early detection of breast cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, filed a U.S. Utility Patent application for forty-seven protein biomarkers of neurodegenerative disease in human blood serum.
Power3 Medical has determined the blood serum concentrations of these forty-seven biomarkers in samples from more than 750 neurodegenerative disease patients and normal control subjects. The results have shown that this group of biomarkers is useful in the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from normal control individuals, patients with non-Alzheimer’s dementias, and patients with Parkinson’s disease or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Eighteen million people worldwide have AD; because the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease are often hard to distinguish from normal signs of aging, many patients are not diagnosed until the neuronal damage caused by this disease is extensive... Power3 Medical Products' Press Release -