Federal funding for dementia and Alzheimer’s studies has surged, as venture funding focuses on other diseases
By Brian Gormley | Aug. 20, 2020 6:00 am ET
“We need to have many, many more shots at goals, we don’t have nearly the number of projects in Alzheimer’s disease as in cancer,” said Anton Porsteinsson, director of the University of Rochester Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program, and a scientific adviser to Alzheon.
Framingham, Mass.-based Alzheon has won a $47 million award from the National Institute on Aging to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials of an oral drug, ALZ-801, which blocks the formation of brain proteins known as soluble amyloid oligomers. Soluble oligomers trigger harmful effects on the cognitive abilities of people with early Alzheimer’s, according to the company.
Alzheon plans to study the drug in 300 patients who have two copies of a gene called APOE4, a population at higher risk for rapid progression of the disease. It expects these studies to begin early next year. If all goes well, Alzheon could file for FDA approval in 2023 or 2024, Chief Executive Martin Tolar said. Alzheon’s venture backers include Ally Bridge Group.
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