Ichor Awarded $3.3 Million NIH Grant to Develop Alzheimer's Disease Vaccine

August 5, 2009 - Ichor Medical Systems (Ichor) of San Diego announced that it has been selected to receive a $3.3 million grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) for development of a vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease. Ichor is collaborating on the project with Dr. Michael Agadjanyan, Vice President and Head of Immunology at the Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMM), Huntington Beach, CA; Dr. David H. Cribbs, Professor, Department of Neurology and Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders at the University of California, Irvine (UCI); and Dr. Ruth Mulnard, Associate Professor of Neurology and Associate Director, Institute for Clinical Translational Science at UCI.
In the last few years the laboratories of Dr. Agadjanyan and Dr. Cribbs have designed and evaluated DNA-based vaccines for Alzheimer’s disease. In mice genetically engineered to model Alzheimer's disease, these vaccines slowed the development of pathology and reduced behavioral deficits. Building upon these promising research findings, Ichor will evaluate its proprietary TriGrid™ electroporation technology for delivery of DNA vaccines encoding proteins implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The objective of this approach is to induce antibody responses that slow down progression of Alzheimer’s disease, or if vaccination is initiated early enough, could even prevent disease development. The plan funded by the NINDS includes the studies required to support eventual initiation of human clinical testing of this approach... [PDF] Ichor Medical Systems' Press Release -

Humanetics : Findings at 2009 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference

July 13, 2009— The results of a preliminary clinical trial suggest that a new Alzheimer’s drug from Humanetics Corporation is safe for daily use and that cognitive performance in patients with mild to moderate disease remained stable during the six-week course of the trial. The lack of decline in cognitive performance was an encouraging finding to be further evaluated in a Phase IIB clinical trial. Phase IIA clinical findings were presented in Vienna at the 2009 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD 2009) by investigators from The Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM). The study was conducted at The Mount Sinai Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in New York, a nationally renowned center of excellence since 1984 offering a comprehensive clinical program and research facility dedicated to the study and treatment of both normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
Study investigators Giulio Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D. and Hillel Grossman, M.D., both of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, each made a poster presentation on NIC5-15 at ICAD 2009. Dr. Pasinetti said his findings supported the conclusion that “NIC5-15 is a safe and tolerable natural compound that may alleviate Alzheimer’s disease dementia through multiple mechanisms including Abeta lowering activities. These early findings suggest the need for further investigation of NIC5-15 in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”... Humanetics' Press Release -

Boehringer Ingelheim and Vitae Pharmaceuticals : a major collaboration to research and develop novel treatments for Alzheimer`s disease

15 June 2009 - Boehringer Ingelheim and Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced that they have entered into a significant worldwide collaboration to research and develop beta-secretase (BACE) inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Current therapies for Alzheimer’s disease can improve symptoms, but do not affect the progression of the disease. The inhibition of BACE - an enzyme involved in the formation of amyloid-beta plaques which accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease - offers the potential to slow or even halt disease progression.

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Vitae Pharmaceuticals
Vitae Pharmaceuticals is an emerging pharmaceutical company building a clinical stage pipeline of novel drug candidates in important therapeutic categories, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease...

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Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 138 affiliates in 47 countries and 41,300 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine... Boehringer Ingelheim's Press Release - [PDF] Vitae Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

Adeona Pharmaceuticals : Results of Clinical Study at 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD)

July 16, 2009 - Highly Statistically Significant Defective Serum Copper Handling Found in Alzheimer’s Subjects - Subclinical Zinc Deficiency in Alzheimer’s Subjects Found - HartLab Introduced to International Alzheimer’s Community - Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX:AEN), a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the awareness, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of zinc deficiency and chronic copper toxicity in the mature population, announced that it presented results of a 90 subject prospective, blinded, observational clinical study to evaluate copper and zinc status in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson ’s disease and normal subjects. The results were presented at the 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD) in Vienna, Austria. Two separate sets of study results were presented, entitled respectively, “Alzheimer’s Patients Exhibit Defective Serum Ceruloplasmin Associated with Defective Copper Binding” and “Sub-Clinical Zinc Deficiency Found in Alzheimer’s Disease.”...

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About Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX:AEN - News) is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the awareness, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of subclinical zinc deficiency and chronic copper toxicity in the mature population. Adeona believes that such conditions may contribute to the progression of debilitating degenerative diseases, including, Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration (Dry AMD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in susceptible persons. Adeona is also developing a number of late-stage clinical drug candidates for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis... Adeona Pharmaceuticals' Press Release -

Bayer Schering Pharma : positive Phase II data with florbetaben

July 13, 2009 - Potential to visualize beta-Amyloid plaques in Patients with Alzheimer’s disease demonstrated / Florbetaben may innovate the diagnostic capabilities – Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany, has presented positive data on a global Phase II study with the novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracer florbetaben (BAY 94-9172) at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) in Vienna, Austria. This study showed that patients with a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer´s disease could be differentiated from age-matched healthy volunteers (HVs) on the basis of florbetaben uptake pattern in the brain.

Until now, the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer´s disease (AD) with current methods such as cognitive tests is still limited. Currently, a definite diagnosis of Alzheimer´s disease is only possible post mortem. The results of this study showed PET images with a high specificity of over 90 percent: More than 90 percent of the HVs had a negative florbetaben scan (i.e. no tracer uptake) in the relevant brain regions. The results also show a sensitivity of approximately 80 percent indicated by the clinical diagnosis, meaning that about 80 percent of the clinically suspected Alzheimer patients had positive florbetaben scans indicating the presence of beta-Amyloid plaques. This is in line with the results of studies comparing the clinical diagnosis with the definite post mortem histopathological diagnosis...

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...Bayer Schering Pharma is a worldwide leading specialty pharmaceutical company. Its research and business activities are focused on the following areas: Diagnostic Imaging, General Medicine, Specialty Medicine and Women's Healthcare. With innovative products, Bayer Schering Pharma aims for leading positions in specialized markets worldwide. Using new ideas, Bayer Schering Pharma aims to make a contribution to medical progress and strives to improve the quality of life... Bayer Schering Pharma's Press Release -

Johnson & Johnson and Elan Corporation plc : Definitive Agreement for Alzheimer's Immunotherapy Program and Equity Investment

First-in-Class Alzheimer’s Treatments Expand Existing J&J Neuroscience Pipeline Johnson & Johnson Equity Investment Provides Financial Flexibility for Elan - July 2, 2009 – Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Elan Corporation plc (NYSE: ELN) announced a definitive agreement whereby Johnson & Johnson will acquire substantially all of the assets and rights of Elan related to its Alzheimer’s Immunotherapy Program (AIP Program), through a newly formed company. In addition, Johnson & Johnson, through its affiliate, will invest $1 billion in Elan in exchange for newly issued American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Elan which will represent 18.4% of Elan’s outstanding ordinary shares.

The AIP Program represents Elan’s interest in a collaboration with Wyeth to research, develop and commercialize selective products for the treatment and/or prevention of neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Johnson & Johnson, through its affiliate, will assume and continue Elan’s activities with Wyeth under the AIP Program and will initially commit up to $500 million to continue the development and launch activities of bapineuzumab, a potential first-in-class treatment that is being evaluated for slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as other compounds. The agreement provides for additional funding obligations of the parties if needed...

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About Johnson & Johnson
Caring for the world, one person at a time….inspires and unites the people of Johnson & Johnson. We embrace research and science – bringing innovative ideas, products and services to advance the health and well-being of people. Our approximately 119,000 employees at more than 250 Johnson & Johnson companies work with partners in health care to touch the lives of over a billion people every day throughout the world.


About Elan
Elan Corporation, plc is a neuroscience-based biotechnology company committed to making a difference in the lives of patients and their families by bringing innovations in science to fill significant unmet medical needs. Elan shares trade on the New York, London and Dublin Stock Exchanges. The gross assets attributable to the AIP Program in the audited consolidated accounts of Elan as at 31 December, 2008 were US$63.1 million. Costs (losses) associated with the AIP Program in respect of the year ended 31 December, 2008 were approximately US$113 million... Elan's Press Release - Johnson & Johnson's Press Release -

BRNI and Inverness Medical Innovations to Develop Commercial Test to Detect Early Alzheimer’s Disease

May 27, 2009 – The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) and Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (Inverness, NYSE:IMA) of Waltham, Massachusetts, a global leader in rapid diagnostics and health management, announced that they will work together to further develop and commercialize a diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease first discovered by scientists at BRNI.

The BRNI test, once fully commercialized, could dramatically change the time and way that the disease is treated. The agreement also marks the first major global private sector deal involving BRNI technology and science. Under the terms of the arrangement, Inverness will fund the development efforts to be conducted by BRNI over an initial three year period. Inverness has also obtained an option which, if exercised, will provide Inverness with certain rights to the technology developed for use in the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease... Inverness Medical Innovations' Press Releases -

CeNeRx BioPharma : Novel Drug Candidate for Prevention and Treatment of Neurodegeneration Disorders

June 16, 2009 -- CeNeRx BioPharma, Inc., a clinical stage company developing and commercializing innovative treatments for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), announced that it has obtained the rights to develop and market a novel agent for the prevention and treatment of neuropathies and neurodegenerative disorders. The drug candidate, CXB909, is a small molecule, orally active agent that enhances the effects of nerve growth factor (NGF). CeNeRx intends to initiate a Phase l trial of CXB909 for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) later this year...
...CXB909 is a downstream enhancer of the effects of nerve growth factor, an endogenously produced neurotrophic factor that is important for the function and survival of several types of
neurons. Both Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease involve the degeneration of certain neurons, and neuronal damage is also implicated in the peripheral neuropathies associated with diabetes, kidney disease, cancer chemotherapy and other conditions. In preclinical studies, CXB909 enhanced the action of NGF in vitro, amplifying its activity almost seven-fold. CXB909 was neuroprotective in a variety of cellular assays and in animal models of neuropathies and neurodegenerative diseases, including chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, for which there is currently no approved treatment... [PDF] CeNeRx BioPharma's Press Release -