AlzeCure to present abstract at ECNP conference on NeuroRestore project's potential in depression
Stockholm, Swede, August 12, 2021. AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ) (FN STO: ALZCUR), a pharmaceutical company that develops a broad portfolio of drug candidates for diseases affecting the central nervous system, with projects in both Alzheimer’s disease and pain, today announced that an abstract about the neurology platform NeuroRestore, its link to BDNF/TrkB signalling and potential therapeutic role in depression, has been accepted for presentation at the ECNP 2021 conference, which this year will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, on October 2-5.
The abstract, titled Characterization of positive allosteric modulators of TrkB for the treatment of depression, will be presented at the major international conference European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) 2021, by Dr. Johan Sandin, Chief Scientific Officer at AlzeCure. Other authors include Dr. Pontus Forsell, Head of Discovery, Dr. Gunnar Nordvall, Head of Chemistry and and Magnus Halldin, Head of DMPK & Safety at AlzeCure.
The presentation includes results from studies that show how substances from the NeuroRestore project have had potent effects in various preclinical models linked to depression. Furthermore, the results show that these substances bind to the receptors for the neurotrophin BDNF, so called TrkB receptors, and stimulate the signaling of this system. This biological system has been linked to depression, and the support for this hypothesis has recently been further strengthened, and new scientific findings indicate that many of the classic antidepressant drugs available today actually mediate their effect via BDNF/TrkB.*
"These data demonstrate the impressive width of the NeuroRestore platform and the various indications that may be applicable to this unique biological mechanism," said Johan Sandin, CSO at AlzeCure Pharma.
"The NeuroRestore platform, with ACD856 as the leading clinical candidate drug, is based on a strong scientific foundation and the approval of our abstract is a clear validation of our research and strengthens our conviction that our studies are at the forefront of research identifying several potential opportunities," said Martin Jönsson, CEO of AlzeCure Pharma.
*) Casarotto et al., Antidepressant drugs act by directly binding to TRKB neurotrophin receptors, Cell 184, 1299–1313, March 4, 2021, https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(21)00077-5.pdf
For more information, please contact
Martin Jönsson, VD
Tel: +46(0)707 86 94 43
martin.jonsson@alzecurepharma.com
The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above at 07.30 am CET on August 12, 2021.
About AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ)
AlzeCure® is a Swedish pharmaceutical company that develops new innovative drug therapies for the treatment of severe diseases and conditions that affect the central nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s disease and pain – indications for which currently available treatment is extremely limited. The company is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market and is developing several parallel drug candidates based on three research platforms: NeuroRestore®, Alzstatin® and Painless.
NeuroRestore consists of two symptomatic drug candidates where the unique mechanism of action allows multiple indications, including Alzheimer’s disease, as well as cognitive disorders associated with traumatic brain injury, sleep apnea and Parkinson’s disease. The Alzstatin platform focuses on developing disease-modifying and preventive drug candidates for early treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and comprises two candidates. Painless is the company’s research platform in the field of pain and contains two projects: ACD440, which is a drug candidate in the clinical development phase for the treatment of neuropathic pain, and TrkA-NAM, which targets severe pain in conditions such as osteoarthritis. AlzeCure® aims to pursue its own projects through preclinical research and development to early clinical phase, and is continually working on business development to find suitable outlicensing solutions with other pharmaceutical companies.
FNCA Sweden AB, +46(0)8 528 00 399 info@fnca.se, is the company’s Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit www.alzecurepharma.se.
About NeuroRestore
NeuroRestore is a platform of symptom-relieving drug candidates for disease states in which cognitive ability is impaired, e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease, sleep disorders, traumatic brain injury and Parkinson’s disease. NeuroRestore stimulates several important signaling pathways in the brain, which among other things leads to improved cognition. In preclinical studies with NeuroRestore we have been able to show that our drug candidates enhance communication between the nerve cells and improve cognitive ability. NeuroRestore stimulates specific signaling pathways in the central nervous system known as neurotrophins, the most well-known being NGF (Nerve Growth Factor) and BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor). The levels of NGF and BDNF are disturbed in several disease states and the signaling is reduced. The impaired function impairs communication between the synapses, i.e. the contact surfaces of the nerve endings, as well as reducing the possibility of survival for the nerve cells, which gives rise to the cognitive impairments. Neurotrophins play a crucial role for the function of nerve cells, and a disturbed function of BDNF has a strong genetic link to impaired cognitive ability in several different diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury and sleep disorders. There is also a link between BDNF signaling and depression, something that has been further strengthened in recent years.
About Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting approximately 50 million people worldwide. Alzheimer’s disease is a lethal disorder that also has a large impact on both relatives and the society. Today, preventive and disease modifying treatments are missing. The main risk factors to develop Alzheimer’s are age and genetic causes. Even though the disease can start as early as between 40 and 65 years of age, it is most common after 65 years. Significant investments in Alzheimer research are being made because of the significant unmet medical need and the large cost of this disease for healthcare and society. The total global costs for dementia related diseases is estimated to about 1,000 billion USD globally. Given the lack of both effective symptomatic treatments and disease modifying treatments, the need for new effective therapies is acute. The few approved drugs on the market today have only a limited symptomatic effect and can produce dose limiting side effects. A disease modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is estimated to reach more than $15 billion in annual sales. In Sweden, approximately 100,000 people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease with a healthcare cost of about SEK 63 billion yearly, which is more than for cancer and cardiovascular diseases combined.
