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 -

Samaritan, Favorable Caprospinol Data At Alzheimer's Drug Development Summit

November 27, 2007 - ...In an in vivo 'Proof of Concept' study, Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has confirmed Caprospinol's (SP-233) efficacy in its ability to dramatically decrease beta amyloid plaque in the brain, accompanied by a complete recovery of memory back to baseline (p=0.002), as shown in a Morris water maze task. This study confirms previously reported in vitro data and suggests Caprospinol may not only slow the progress of Alzheimer's , but may also reverse plaque-related brain injuries associated with the disease. The rats tested with the company's proprietary Alzheimer's rat model took on features similar to the crippling signs of dementia seen in human patients suffering from Alzheimer's; by treating the rats with Caprospinol, the rat's brain cells regained complete memory... Samaritan's Press Release -