New Alzheimer's drug shows promise

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Neurochem Inc. (NASDAQ: NRMX; TSX: NRM) is pleased to announce that Neurology, a worldwide, leading, peer-reviewed, medical journal in the field of neurology, has published today an online version of a publication on the Phase II clinical trial of tramiprosate (3-amino-1-propanesulfonic acid (3APS); ALZHEMED(TM)) conducted in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Tramiprosate (ALZHEMED(TM)) represents a potential new class of disease-modifying agents and is Neurochem's investigational product candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The results reported in the paper demonstrate that long-term administration of tramiprosate (ALZHEMED(TM)) is safe, tolerated and reduces the level of amyloid (beta)42 (A(beta)42) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of AD patients. In addition, mean ADAS-cog(1) and MMSE(2) scores remained near baseline levels in the mild AD group over the 20 months of follow-up.
The only drugs currently available for Alzheimer's patients are those that alleviate symptoms, but a team of scientists led by Paul Aisen, MD, director of the memory disorders program at Georgetown University Medical Center, is testing a new class of drugs that actually target the molecule believed to cause the disease.
Aisen and his colleagues report that a compound called tramiprosate reduced levels of a marker for the progression of Alzheimer's disease in a Phase II clinical trial in the November 1 electronic version of Neurology.
"Everyone wants to figure out how to create an Alzheimer's treatment that attacks the amyloid peptide, which is considered to be the molecular cause of the disease," said Aisen. "This is the most advanced anti-amyloid treatment that exists — it has the potential for slowing down progression of the disease."
Aisen and his team are currently in the midst of Phase III clinical trials on tramiprosate (manufactured by Neurochem, for which Aisen is a scientific advisor, as ALZHEMED™) and hope to have results by early next summer.