Study confirms potential of new class of Alzheimer's drugs

WELLESLEY, MA, July 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Data obtained in a recent animal study confirm the potential of a new class of drugs targeted to Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive impairment, with special promise for patients carrying the APOE4 gene.

Administration of sGC-1061, a member of a class of compounds known as 'nomethiazoles',  to E4FAD mice for 10 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in the levels of soluble (neurotoxic) amyloid-beta (amino acids 1-42) in the treated animals.

E4FAD mice are a preferred model of Alzheimer's disease, in that they carry a copy of the human APOE4 gene in place of the mouse APOE gene. E4FAD mice may be useful for testing for expected efficacy of candidate Alzheimer's drugs for the subset of people that carry the APOE4 gene.

APOE4 carriers account for more than half of Alzheimer's patients and the APOE4 genetic polymorphism accelerates disease progression and onset of cognitive impairment by seven to nine years per gene copy.

Previous published studies on sGC -1061 have demonstrated the compound's potential to improve synaptic function in the central nervous system in two other animal models of Alzheimer's disease.  Pharmacology and toxicology data support the potential of the drug, and a prototype sustained-release formulation is under development. sGC-1061 is poised to enter Phase 2 evaluation in target populations.

The E4FAD mouse studies were completed in the laboratories of Professors Mary Jo Ladu and Greg Thatcher, the latter being the inventor of the class of compounds known as nomethiazoles. Dr. Thatcher began this work while at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He now holds the Hans W. Vahlteich Chair of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy at the University of Illinois, Chicago. His laboratory continues to work on the development of nomethiazoles.

Dr. Thatcher's work on nomethiazoles has been licensed from Queen's University's PARTEQ Innovations and the University of Illinois and is being developed by sGC Pharma Inc. Dr. Doug Cowart of sGC Pharma has indicated that the formulation of sGC-1061 relies on recently patented technology directed to maintaining plasma concentrations of the drug in the therapeutic range with once or twice daily dosage.

SOURCE sGC Pharma Inc.