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 -