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 -