NGF x BDNF

Neurotrophins are proteins involved in the development, function and survival of neurons discovered 70 years ago by Italian Nobel Rita Levi Montalcini with the identification of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF). The first NGF-based therapy was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 to treat a rare ocular disorder and today in Rome researchers are discussing the potential of neurotrophins including NGF, Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and other molecules for the treatment of various eye and brain disorders, paving the way for innovative therapeutic strategies for unmet patient needs. Potential indications include: corneal neurosensorial abnormalities, retinal diseases, optic neuropathies, traumatic brain damage, axon regeneration, dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Clinical studies aimed at expanding the research and knowledge of potential applications of NGF in both eye and brain disorders are being evaluated for launch in 2025. ROME--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nature Conferences has convened a meeting of leading global scientists to discuss the state of the art and future lines of research on neurotrophins. The event, From the Eye to the Brain, will focus on the potential new applications of neurotrophins in therapeutic areas including ophthalmology and the central nervous system. The program takes place in Rome June 11-12 and is sponsored by Dompé farmaceutici. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: From the Eye to the Brain: World’s Top Scientists Gather in Rome to Discuss Future of Neurotrophins in Eye and Brain Research (Photo: Business Wire) Neurotrophins were discovered by Italian Nobel laureate Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini and her colleague Dr. Stanley Cohen in the early 1950s. Drs. Levi-Montalcini and Cohen uncovered that NGF plays a crucial role in the proliferation, differentiation and survival of sympathetic and sensory neurons. The past decade saw a key breakthrough with the first successful therapeutic application of a neurotrophin. The first NGF treatment was approved in 2018 by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of a rare corneal disease. From the Eye to the Brain will feature global experts in the fields of neuroscience and ophthalmology discussing the first potential therapeutic applications of neurotrophins in the treatment of optic nerve and retinal damage in glaucoma and central nervous system disorders including pediatric and adult traumatic brain injuries, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and depression. “Research on neurotrophins is becoming increasingly important for understanding several brain diseases for which we currently have no effective therapies,” said Elliott Mufson, professor of neurobiology and Alzheimer's disease researcher at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, and speaker at the conference. “For example, there is a disconnect between the NGF and its receptors, which leads to the death of key neurons, causing dementia in people with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Down syndrome. Potential approaches to rescue these neurons exist and we will discuss how NGF could be used to track the progression of Alzheimer's Disease in people affected by the disease.” “The discovery of neurotrophins in the 50s was a truly paradigm-shifting, revolutionary discovery. It was a brilliant piece of work that changed how we thought about our brain’s functions.” said Thomas Südhof, M.D., Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2013. “Today neurotrophins are under-researched but there are enormous opportunities. These opportunities will be realized once we actually have a better insight into what neurotrophins do.” Key Sessions Thomas C. Südhof, M.D., Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2013 How to build and renew synapses: from molecules to memory mechanisms This presentation will focus on the significant progress made in understanding synaptic transmission and its implications for treating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Elliott Mufson, Ph.D., Barrow Neurological Institute Neurotrophins in Neurological Disease Dr. Mufson will discuss the role that nerve growth factor (NGF) plays in the maintenance of a group of cholinergic cells located deep within the brain that make a key neurotransmitter that contributes to cognition and how their degeneration plays a role in the onset of dementia in people with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Down syndrome. Barbara L. Hempstead, Dean of Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences Impact of Neurotrophins on the Development of Social Behavior Circuits Dr. Hempstead’s research will be presented on neurotrophins and pro-neurotrophins, exploring their dual role in promoting neuronal survival and causing neuronal dysfunction post-injury, which has important implications for stroke and seizure-related conditions. Baoji Xu, Professor UF Scripps, University of Florida BDNF-TrkB signaling and the regulation of appetite and body weight Dr. Xu will discuss his research on the role of neurotrophins in cerebral cortex development and weight control, contributing to a deeper understanding of the connection between neurobiology and metabolic regulation, offering insights into potential treatments for obesity and related disorders. Elizabeth Coulson, Ph.D., Queensland Brain Institute Targeting the p75 neurotrophin receptor to stop neurodegeneration in dementia Dr. Coulson will present her research on neuronal cell death mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on the amyloid precursor protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease and her work to identify therapeutic targets to address this condition. Zhigang He, Ph.D., B.M., Harvard Medical School Neurotrophins-based strategies for promoting neuronal survival and axon regeneration Dr. He will present advancements in axon regeneration and functional restoration following central nervous system injuries, addressing spinal cord and optic nerve injuries. Additional From the Eye to the Brain sessions will focus on potential applications for corneal neurosensorial abnormalities, retinal diseases, optic neuropathies, traumatic brain damage, axon regeneration, and dementia. For more detailed information about the conference and to view the complete agenda, visit: . About Nature Conferences: Nature Conferences brings together experts from various scientific fields to discuss the latest research and innovations. Our events provide a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange, driving scientific advancements across the globe. For more information visit . About Dompé: Dompé is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company founded in Milan, Italy, with a 130-year legacy of R&D and medical innovation. Today, headquartered Dompé employs more than 900 employees worldwide and maintains a U.S. commercial operations hub in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as an R&D presence in Boston. For more information visit . Forward Looking Statements This press release refers to certain information that may not coincide with expected future results. Dompé firmly believes in the soundness and reasonableness of the concepts expressed. However, some of the information is subject to a certain degree of indetermination in relation to its research and development activities and the necessary verifications to be performed by regulatory bodies. Therefore, as of today, Dompé cannot guarantee that the expected results will be consistent with the information provided above. View source version on businesswire.com: Contacts Michael Szumera Senior Director, Head of US Corporate Communications Mobile: +1 650 445 3735 michael.szumera@dompe.com Source: Dompé farmaceutici Smart Multimedia Gallery Photo From the Eye to the Brain: World’s Top Scientists Gather in Rome to Discuss Future of Neurotrophins in Eye and Brain Research (Photo: Business Wire) Photo Elliott Mufson, professor of neurobiology and Alzheimer's disease researcher at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona (Photo: Business Wire) Photo Thomas Südhof, M.D., Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2013 (Photo: Business Wire) View this news release and multimedia online at:

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN / ACCESSWIRE / May 13, 2024 / AlzeCure Pharma (STO:ALZCUR)(FRA:AC6) AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ) (FN STO:ALZCUR), a pharmaceutical company that develops candidate drugs for diseases affecting the nervous system, focusing on Alzheimer's disease and pain, today announced that the company has received preclinical data for NeuroRestore in inflammation, with relevance to Alzheimer's disease, and submitted a new patent application for NeuroRestore ACD856, which is now being prepared for phase II clinical studies. "Alzheimer's disease as well as other neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by an inflammatory process in the brain. Prolonged inflammation, with the release of inflammatory and toxic substances, can cause damage and nerve cell death. That we can target these inflammatory processes is something that further opens up new possibilities for ACD856," said Pontus Forsell, Head of Discovery and Research at AlzeCure. New preclinical data show that the NeuroRestore substance ACD856 exhibits anti-inflammatory properties both centrally in the brain and peripherally in the body with relief of clinical inflammatory symptoms in preclinical models and a reduction in several inflammatory markers. These new data indicate an opportunity to treat diseases with elements of neuroinflammation, such as Alzheimer's disease, and that ACD856 can have a disease-modifying effect via its anti-inflammatory properties. ACD856 and the other substances in the NeuroRestore platform stimulate several important signaling systems and signaling substances in the brain such as BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor) and NGF (Nerve Growth Factor), which can lead to improved cognition. Previous preclinical studies have shown that AlzeCure's drug candidates strengthen communication between nerve cells and improve cognitive ability, including learning and memory functions. New preclinical results also show potential neuroprotective and disease-modifying effects with these substances. The biological mechanism behind NeuroRestore enables several indications, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, but also depression. "We continue to strengthen the patent portfolio for our NeuroRestore program, and already have approved patents in all major markets such as the USA, Europe, Japan and China. The new results for our clinical drug candidate ACD856, which we are preparing for phase II against Alzheimer's, provide further evidence for a disease-modifying effect as well as general use against neurodegenerative diseases, where neuroinflammation is central. This further improves our commercial opportunities for this promising substance," said Martin Jönsson, CEO. For more information, please contact Martin Jönsson, CEO Tel: +46 707 86 94 43 martin.jonsson@alzecurepharma.com 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 very 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 for multiple indications, including Alzheimer's disease, as well as cognitive disorders associated with traumatic brain injury, sleep apnea and Parkinson's disease, as well as for depression treatment. The Alzstatin platform focuses on developing disease-modifying and preventive drug candidates for early treatment of Alzheimer's disease and comprises two drug 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 through an early clinical phase, and is continually working on business development to find suitable outlicensing solutions, alternatively partnership, with other pharmaceutical companies. FNCA Sweden AB is the company's Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit . 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 apnea, traumatic brain injury and Parkinson's disease. NeuroRestore stimulates several important signaling pathways in the brain, which among other things leads to improved cognition. Preclinical studies with NeuroRestore have shown that AlzeCure's drug candidates enhance communication between the nerve cells and improve cognitive ability. The NeuroRestore substances are so called Trk-PAMs which stimulate 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. In addition to cognitive-enhancing effects, new preclinical data also show that NeuroRestore substances have a positive effect on mitochondrial function and cell survival, which could indicate potential disease-modifying effects. The leading drug candidate in the platform, ACD856, has recently completed clinical phase I studies and demonstrated positive effects there that support continued development of the program. About Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting approximately 55 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 are estimated to about 1,300 billion USD globally in 2019. 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. Image Attachments Martin Jönsson CEO And Pontus Forsell Head Of D&R AlzeCure Pharma Attachments AlzeCure reports anti-inflammatory effects with NeuroRestore ACD856 with relevance to Alzheimer's leading to new patent application SOURCE: AlzeCure Pharma View the original press release on accesswire.com

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2024 / AlzeCure Pharma (STO:ALZCUR)(FRA:AC6) AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ) (FN STO: ALZCUR), a pharmaceutical company that develops small molecule drug candidates for CNS diseases, focusing on Alzheimer's disease and pain, today announced that the company's presentation at the Alzheimer's conference AD/PD 2024, regarding new preclinical data with its leading clinical drug candidate NeuroRestore ACD856, which is being developed with a focus on Alzheimer's disease, is now available on the company's website. The abstract, titled ACD856 is a biased positive allosteric modulator of Trk-receptors - Enhances neurite outgrowth but do not affect pain signaling , was presented by Pontus Forsell, Head of Discovery and Research at AlzeCure, and includes new preclinical data with the lead clinical drug candidate ACD856, which is part of the NeuroRestore platform. Data from the study show that ACD856 functions as a so-called biased PAM (positive allosteric modulator), i.e. that the substance potentiates certain signaling pathways but not others, which means that the substance can have potent effects and at the same time maintain a good safety profile. The results show that ACD856 can stimulate nerve cell growth, something that is important for communication between nerve cells. In addition, the substance improves memory and learning ability in preclinical models. In contrast, pain signaling is not affected, which indicates a selective stimulation of specific signaling pathways. ACD856 is a Trk-PAM and enhances BDNF and NGF signaling, which among other things play an important role in normal nerve cell function and maintaining brain health. The substance is under clinical development as a symptom-relieving treatment for disease states where the cognitive ability is impaired, for example in Alzheimer's disease. New preclinical data also suggest that ACD856 has potential protective and disease-modifying effects. "These new data with ACD856 show that the substance has growth-stimulating and memory-enhancing effects, without affecting pain signaling. This selective stimulatory effect bodes well for further clinical development," said Pontus Forsell. "With the positive clinical results we previously obtained with ACD856, as well as additional new preclinical results supporting a disease-modifying effect, we have a promising drug candidate in the Alzheimer's field, which is gratifying considering the very large medical need," said AlzeCure Pharma's CEO Martin Jönsson. The authors of the abstract are Pontus Forsell, Veronica Lidell, Azita Rasti, Gunnar Nordvall and Johan Sandin. The presentation is available on AlzeCure's website: ( ). For more information, please contact Martin Jönsson, CEO Tel: +46 707 86 94 43 martin.jonsson@alzecurepharma.com 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 very 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 for multiple indications, including Alzheimer's disease, as well as cognitive disorders associated with traumatic brain injury, sleep apnea and Parkinson's disease, as well as for depression treatment. The Alzstatin platform focuses on developing disease-modifying and preventive drug candidates for early treatment of Alzheimer's disease and comprises two drug 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 through an early clinical phase, and is continually working on business development to find suitable outlicensing solutions, alternatively partnership, with other pharmaceutical companies. FNCA Sweden AB is the company's Certified Adviser. For more information, please visit . 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 apnea, traumatic brain injury and Parkinson's disease. NeuroRestore stimulates several important signaling pathways in the brain, which among other things leads to improved cognition. Preclinical studies with NeuroRestore have shown that AlzeCure's drug candidates enhance communication between the nerve cells and improve cognitive ability. The NeuroRestore substances are so called Trk-PAMs which stimulate 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. In addition to cognitive-enhancing effects, new preclinical data also show that NeuroRestore substances have a positive effect on mitochondrial function and cell survival, which could indicate potential disease-modifying effects. The leading drug candidate in the platform, ACD856, has recently completed clinical phase I studies and demonstrated positive effects there that support continued development of the program. About Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting approximately 55 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 $1,300 billion globally in 2019. 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. Image Attachments Martin Jönsson CEO And Pontus Forsell Head Of Discovery And Research AlzeCure Pharma 2023 Attachments AlzeCure presents new preclinical data with NeuroRestore ACD856 at leading Alzheimer's conference SOURCE: AlzeCure Pharma View the original press release on accesswire.com