Tianjin Medical University

BEDFORD, Mass. and SHANGHAI, China, Feb. 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Frontera Therapeutics a global clinical-stage biotechnology company that seeks to develop novel and best-in-class gene therapy medicines to improve the lives of patients across multiple disease areas, announced that it has dosed the first patient in a clinical trial of its innovative gene therapy product, FT-003, at the Ophthalmology Hospital of Tianjin Medical University in Tianjin, China. FT-003 is being studied for the treatment of neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) and is Frontera’s second gene therapy product candidate to enter the clinic. “I am excited by the momentum the Frontera team has achieved so far this year with the dosing of the first patients in two gene therapy Phase 1 clinical trials during the month of January for FT-001 and FT-003,” said Yong Dai, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Frontera. “FT-003 is designed as a one-time treatment for patients with wet-AMD, a leading cause of blindness globally in people over 60 years old. We remain committed to validating our novel AAV technology platform and to making further breakthroughs in bringing gene therapies to patients with unmet medical needs, and expect to have initial clinical results for both FT-001 and FT-003 later this year.” About Wet AMD Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), also known as Senile Macular Degeneration (SMD), is an irreversible eye disease that leads to severe vision loss or even blindness in the middle-aged and the elderly. AMD is the third most common cause of blindness and the fourth leading cause of visual impairment worldwide. Wet AMD accounts for approximately 10% to 20% of patients with AMD, and is characterized by rapid visual deformation and loss of central vision over weeks to months. The main pathological changes of wet AMD are submacular choroidal neovascularization, vascular leakage, hemorrhage, edema, and finally fibrous scar formation, resulting in progressive impairment of central vision leading to severe blindness. About Frontera Frontera Therapeutics is a global, fully-integrated, clinical stage biotechnology company leveraging its novel APEX Technology & Manufacturing platform to develop and manufacture superior and novel gene therapy candidates across multiple disease areas. The platform is an innovative adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene expression system that aims to optimize both new and clinically validated AAV vectors to enhance the safety and efficacy profiles of gene therapy products. The in-house GMP manufacturing capabilities enable rapid production across the product lifecycle, and efficiently advance AAV therapies from research to clinical development. Frontera’s development pipeline spans not only orphan diseases, but also targets large patient markets – including ophthalmology, hematology, cardiovascular, neurology and metabolic diseases. Two of Frontera’s gene therapy product candidates, FT-001 for LCA-2 and FT-003 for wet AMD, have entered clinical development. Frontera Therapeutics has offices in the United States and China, allowing it to target global patient populations. For additional information about Frontera Therapeutics, please visit the company’s website at Company Contact: us-admin@fronteratherapeutics.com Investor Contact: Robert Uhl, Managing Director ICR Westwicke Robert.uhl@westwicke.com 619.228.5886

MILAN, Sept. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "Human Brains" is the result of an in-depth research process undertaken by Fondazione Prada in 2018 in the field of neuroscience. The project has featured an online conference dedicated to the study of consciousness, a series of video talks by international scientists, philosophers and researchers, and an exhibition on the history of brain studies, currently on view in Venice until 27 November 2022. Continue Reading “Human Brains: Preserving the Brain - Forum on Neurodegenerative Diseases”. Fondazione Prada, Milan. Credits 2x4, NY. The fourth phase of "Human Brains, titled "Preserving the Brain – Forum on Neurodegenerative Diseases", will comprise an exhibition (16 September – 10 October 2022) and a conference (6 and 7 October 2022) at Fondazione Prada's Milan premises. "Preserving the Brain" aims to stimulate an open and critical exchange between international scientists and experts on neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Multiple sclerosis, which are widely spread and as yet incurable. As stated by Miuccia Prada, President of Fondazione Prada, "For us, this phase of the project is particularly significant as it permits a closer understanding of scientific research's impact on our everyday lives, and in particular on the discovery of possible cures and treatments. 'Preserving the Brain' also demonstrates how critical collaboration and sharing of knowledge are within the scientific community. This first international forum could become recurring and allow the organizations we are associated with to communicate with a wider audience, as they would like to, and Fondazione Prada to contribute tangibly to neuroscientific research." The pivotal moment of "Preserving the Brain" will be the scientific conference held on 6 and 7 October 2022, at Fondazione Prada's Cinema in Milan. The speakers will explore the subject of neurodegenerative diseases from different perspectives, such as genetic implications and molecular mechanisms, clinical trials and possible drug treatments. The conference is addressed to researchers and universities involved in the project and representatives of prominent institutions in the health sector. The sessions will also be streamed and visible to all on the online platform: humanbrains.fondazioneprada.org. The exhibition will be held from 16 September to 10 October 2022 in the Podium, the space at the center of Fondazione Prada's Milan venue. Conceived by the New York studio 2x4, the exhibition design will be divided into different sections supervised by the research centers, and a common central area that will encourage dialogue and exchanges between the thirteen institutes. Each section will examine a specific research process on neurodegenerative diseases employing video presentations, technological objects and instruments, scientific documents, and visual materials. Throughout the opening of the exhibition, the 13 institutions participating in the project will give a series of online workshops that will be available to the public at humanbrains.fondazioneprada.org. Each meeting will enable the assessment of a specific aspect in the search for new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. "Preserving the Brain" is realized in collaboration with thirteen of the most prestigious international neuroscience institutes and universities: Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Ann Romney Center for Neurological Diseases, Boston, United States; Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne University AP-HP, Neurology department and Paris Brain Institute, Paris, France; UniSR – Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; Juntendo University Hospital, Neurology Department, Tokyo, Japan; Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) within the Helmholtz Association, Bonn, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Munich, Germany; Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill Research and Teaching Institute, Canada; Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Neurology Department, Tianjin, China; UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; University College London, United Kingdom; Weizmann Institute of Science, Revohot, Israel; Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, United States. Media Contact: FONDAZIONE PRADA – PRESS OFFICE [email protected] +39 02 56 66 26 34 Photo: Logo: SOURCE Fondazione Prada

ALBANY, N.Y., Aug. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- YDS Pharmatech announced the publication of a paper revealing a novel human viral recognition mechanism in Nature Chemical Biology today. The publication was co-authored by Xing Che, Ph.D., founder and CEO of YDS Pharmatech, and by researchers at Tianjin Medical University led by Prof. Heng Zhang. The company helped reveal a new viral protein recognition mechanism, highlighting a promising new target for antiviral drugs. An important immune response factor, TRIM7, coordinates the attachment of ubiquitin to cellular proteins, tagging them for protein degradation. Recently, TRIM7 was also shown to have activity against human enterovirus, but the mechanism by which TRIM7 recognizes viral proteins remained unknown. In this study, YDS Pharmatech helped identify the specific molecular mechanism by which TRIM7 recognizes viral infection. A series of structural mutation studies performed by the Tianjin Medical University researchers indicated that the glutamine amino acid at the end of the viral protein drives recognition by TRIM7. YDS's protein dynamics simulations further consolidate the conclusion. Their atomic-level simulations showed how a subtle single mutation disrupts the interactions between the viral peptide and TRIM7, disrupting the protein's antiviral role. Moreover, these findings helped point to additional viral proteins that are recognized by TRIM7, including norovirus and SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Founder and CEO at YDS Pharmatech, Xing Che, Ph.D., says of this recent work, "We are glad YDS Pharmatech was able to contribute to this innovative research that will help to advance the E3 ligase, TRIM7, as a novel drug target for developing antiviral agents against several viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and for developing new targeted protein degradation therapeutics." "New, more effective drugs are needed to address human health challenges," said James Kuo, MD, MBA, former CEO and co-founder of TRYP Therapeutics and advisor to YDS Pharmatech. "YDS Pharmatech uses innovative computational approaches to solve complex problems in biology. This is a great example of how this company brings value to drug discovery and scientific research." To learn more, read the full paper here: About YDS Pharmatech YDS Pharmatech is a privately held drug design company located in Albany, NY. The company has developed a proprietary drug design engine known as MERES™ (Modify-Evaluate-Reinforce-Evolve-Sampling). By leveraging a novel AI and biophysics computational platform, MERES™ shifts drug discovery away from random screening and towards an efficient, directed exploration of the chemical space. The company is also expanding its business to enzyme design by using AI to guide the exploration of protein sequence space towards stronger catalytic power. For more information, please visit yds-pharmatech.com. Follow us on LinkedIn. About MERES YDS Pharmatech's proprietary structure-based drug design engine, MERES (Modify-Evaluate-Reinforce-Evolve-Sampling), leverages evolutionary AI, computational biophysics, and statistical mechanics to optimize drug candidate molecular structure and improve binding affinities to targets. MERES requires only one molecule as input to create molecules with new IP values and the specified desired properties. MERES has already been used to accelerate biotech pipelines, has increased PROTAC candidate binding by 100-fold, discovered the world's first alphavirus inhibitor, and generated new IP for an allosteric kinase inhibitor. Contact YDS Pharmatech Name: Xing Che Email: [email protected] SOURCE YDS Pharmatech