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...
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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 -