AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ) (FN STO: ALZCUR) ), a pharmaceutical company that develops candidate drugs for CNS diseases, focusing on Alzheimer's disease and pain, announced today that a new scientific review article on the mechanism underlying the Alzstatin platform has now been published and made available online.
The article, titled Gamma-secretase modulators: a promising route for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, was published in advance online in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience and is written by Gunnar Nordvall, Head of Chemistry and IP at AlzeCure Pharma. Co-authors are Johan Lundkvist and Johan Sandin.
The article goes through the background and history of small-molecule Alzheimer's therapies focused on the so-called amyloid hypothesis, which has received greatly increased scientific support in recent years. The focus of the review article is on the development of gamma-secretase modulators (GSM), which is the mechanism underlying the Alzstatin platform, and why continued development of these new therapies is important for the field.
Gamma-secretase modulators reduce the production of toxic amyloid-beta protein, Aβ42, which is the building block of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. In addition, there is an increased production of shorter Aβ peptides Aβ37 and Aβ38, which have been reported to have protective effects and, among other things, to be able to also lower the aggregation of Aβ42, and thereby also reduce the build-up of amyloid plaques.
"Gamma-secretase modulators that we develop in the Alzstatin platform are small molecule drugs where there is a strong genetic link to the disease. The advantages of these small molecule drugs include that the substance can be taken as a tablet at home, is designed to pass into the brain efficiently and is produced at a much lower cost compared to biological drugs," said Gunnar Nordvall, Head of Chemistry and IP at AlzeCure Pharma. ”These substances could be used in combination with antibody treatments, but also after completion of antibody treatment to counteract the rebuilding of amyloid in the brain. In the long run, these substances could also function as a preventive treatment to prevent the development of the disease.”
“This publication describes an area that is generating a lot of interest right now, and the fact that this review article becomes available a week before the big Alzheimer's conference CTAD in Boston feels very timely. Alzstatin has a number of unique advantages as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's and we hope that this publication will further clarify this," said Martin Jönsson, CEO of AlzeCure Pharma. ”That Roche will now present phase I data with its gamma-secretase modulator on CTAD congress further strengthens the validity of the mechanism.”
The article is available online via the following link:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2023.1279740/full
