AlzeCure Pharma AB (publ) (FN STO: ALZCUR), a pharmaceutical company that develops a broad portfolio of candidate drugs for diseases affecting the central nervous system, with projects in both Alzheimer’s disease and pain, today announced that the company’s presentation and poster regarding the research platform in neurology, NeuroRestore, its connection to BDNF/TrkB signaling and potential therapeutic role in depression, as presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) 2021 on 2-5 October in Lisbon, Portugal, are now available in its entirety on the company's website.
The abstract, titled Characterization of positive allosteric modulators of TrkB for the treatment of depression, was presented by Johan Sandin, Chief Scientific Officer, and contains new data showing how substances from the NeuroRestore platform affect relevant signaling pathways in the brain and have effects in various preclinical models that link to depression.
These substances stimulate signaling through the receptors for the neurotrophin BDNF, so-called TrkB receptors. This biological system has been linked to depression, and the support for this hypothesis has been further strengthened in recent times and new scientific findings indicate that many of the classic antidepressant drugs available today actually mediate their effect via BDNF/TrkB*. In addition, the substances also show a positive effect on cognitive ability, such as memory and learning – functions that can also be affected in depression.
“NeuroRestore, with the primary candidate drug ACD856, acts as a BDNF/NGF signaling enhancer and can be used in various types of cognitive impairments in which the same signal pathway is reduced. We have previously seen that NeuroRestore compounds have had significant effects in preclinical models of depression and it is very exciting that we, with these findings, get further scientific support for the effect,” said Johan Sandin, CSO at AlzeCure Pharma.
“The findings we have seen with our substances indicate that there are also great opportunities for the NeuroRestore platform in other cognitive disorders outside Alzheimer's. Depression is an area with great medical needs and affects people at a young age,” said Martin Jönsson, CEO of AlzeCure Pharma.
The authors of the abstract include Johan Sandin, Chief Scientific Officer at AlzeCure, Dr. Pontus Forsell, Head of Discovery, Dr. Gunnar Nordvall, Head of Chemistry and Magnus Halldin, Head of DMPK & Safety at AlzeCure.
The presentation, the poster and the abstract are available on AlzeCure’s website: (https://www.alzecurepharma.se/en/presentations-and-interviews/ ).
*) Casarotto et al., 2021, 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
