Date: 2015-04-09
Type of information: Grant
Company: Asceneuron (Switzerland)
Investors: Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) (USA - NY)
Amount: $325,000
Funding type: grant
Planned used: This grant will support the development of Asceneuron’s tau modulators. “The award will fund critical research as we prepare for initial clinical testing of ASN-561, our lead O-GlcNAcase inhibitor, in humans in early 2016” said Dirk Beher, CEO of Asceneuron. Neurofibrillary tangles form when microtubule-associated protein tau aggregates into paired helical filaments and larger structures, a process associated with tau hyperphosphorylation. The enzyme O-linked N-acetylglucosaminidase (O-GlcNAcase) reverses a naturally occurring posttranslational modification of tau termed O-GlcNAcylation. Since OGlcNAcylation protects against the aggregation of tau, inhibiting O-GlcNAcase may prevent neurofibrillary tangle formation and, most importantly, the resulting neurodegeneration. ASN-561 is the first orally available small molecule O-GlcNAcase inhibitor in late preclinical testing. At the 2014 Alzheimer\'s Association International Conference, Asceneuron reported that in a preclinical model characterized by neurofibrillary tangles, oral doses of ASN-561 caused dose-dependent increases in O-GlcNAcylated tau in the forebrain, brain stem and spinal cord that reached levels up to 12 times higher than levels seen control subjects. Asceneuron aims to be among the first to confirm that this mechanism has therapeutic value for human patients. Asceneuron plans to pursue the clinical development of ASN-561 in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and other tauopathies while also pursuing partnerships with larger companies for clinical development in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Asceneuron has also developed a proprietary blood biomarker of the O-GlcNAcase mechanism which has already been validated preclinically and will be used in the clinical trials.
Others: * On April 9, 2015, Asceneuron, an emerging leader in the development of novel, oral small molecule therapeutics targeting tauopathies for Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative diseases, announced that the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) awarded it a $ 325,000 grant to support the development of Asceneuron’s tau modulators.
Therapeutic area: Neurodegenerative diseases
