Probiodrug receives 2015 European Mediscience Award for Best Technology
Probiodrug to present at Canaccord Genuity 35th Annual Growth Conference in Boston
HALLE/SAALE, Germany, 13 July 2015 – Probiodrug AG (Euronext Amsterdam: PBD), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic solutions to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD), announced today that it will fund research at the laboratory of Cynthia Ann Lemere, PhD, a neuroscientist at the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women´s Hospital (BWH).
The funding provided by Probiodrug will be used to further investigate the potential of pyroglutamate-Abeta (pGlu-Abeta) antibodies for passive vaccination against Alzheimer’s disease.
Inge Lues, Chief Development Officer of Probiodrug, said: “It is the second time we provide financial support through a donation to Dr Lemere´s team and this demonstrates our satisfaction with the high caliber science performed at this institution. The laboratory has extensive experience and an impressive set of experimental armamentarium to pursue key questions on the role of pGlu-Abeta.”
The Brigham Research Institute (BRI) at BWH is one of the most respected biomedical research institutes in the world and the second largest recipient of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding among independent hospitals in the United States. BWH is a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
By providing unrestricted funding to Dr Lemere´s Laboratory, Probiodrug has extended a long-standing collaboration with BWH that began in 2008. Probiodrug scientists and Dr Lemere’s team worked on characterizing the deposition of pGlu-Abeta in different animal models with Alzheimer´s-like pathology and to initiate vaccine studies targeting these deposits in transgenic animal models. The BHW team worked specifically on the pharmacology of anti-pGlu-Abeta antibodies, discovered and generated by Probiodrug, that significantly reduce pGlu-Abeta and plaque deposits in hippocampus and cerebellum in transgenic mice. The research was published in the American Journal of Pathology and Neurodegenerative Diseases (1,2).
- Pyroglutamate-3 amyloid-β deposition in the brains of humans, non-human primates, canines, and Alzheimer disease-like transgenic mouse models.Frost JL, Le KX, Cynis H, Ekpo E, Kleinschmidt M, Palmour RM, Ervin FR, Snigdha S, Cotman CW, Saido TC, Vassar RJ, St George-Hyslop P, Ikezu T, Schilling S, Demuth HU, Lemere CA.Am J Pathol. 2013 Aug;183(2):369-81. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2013.05.005
- Passive immunization against pyroglutamate-3 amyloid-β reduces plaque burden in Alzheimer-like transgenic mice: a pilot study.Frost JL, Liu B, Kleinschmidt M, Schilling S, Demuth HU, Lemere CA.Neurodegener Dis. 2012;10(1-4):265-70. doi: 10.1159/000335913.
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For more information, please contact:
Probiodrug
Dr Konrad Glund, CEO
Email: contact@probiodrug.de
Hume Brophy
Mary Clark, Supriya Mathur, Hollie Vile
Tel: +44 (0) 203 440 5653
Email: probiodrug@humebrophy.com
Notes to Editors:
About Probiodrug AG
Headquartered in Halle, Germany, Probiodrug AG (Euronext Amsterdam: PBD) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new therapeutic products for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Founded in 1997, the company successfully developed a novel therapeutic concept for diabetes – the DP4 inhibitors – which provided the basis for a novel class of antidiabetics – the gliptins. Its core capabilities are based on its long-standing expertise in the elucidation of the structure and function of enzymes involved in the modification of proteins and peptides, which play a central role in pathological conditions.
Today Probiodrug’s aim is to become a leading company in the development of Alzheimer’s disease treatments and to thereby provide a better life for Alzheimer’s disease patients. It has identified a new therapeutic concept linked to disease initiation and progression. The development approaches are targeting pyroglutamate-Abeta (pGlu-Abeta) as a therapeutic strategy to fight Alzheimer’s disease. The Company has medical use and composition of matter patents related to the inhibition of Glutaminyl Cyclase (QC) and anti-pGlu-Abeta- specific monoclonal antibodies, providing it, in the Company’s view, with a leading position in this field of research. www.probiodrug.de
About Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disorder, which is the most common form of dementia, and ultimately leads to death. Because Alzheimer’s disease cannot be cured and is degenerative, the affected patients must increasingly rely on others for assistance. Today, 44 million people worldwide currently live with the condition and this number is expected to almost double by 2030 and to more than triple by 2050 to over 132 million. Alzheimer’s also has an estimated, global societal cost of over $600 billion (World Alzheimer Report 2014).
Forward Looking Statements
Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of Probiodrug AG as of the date of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.