Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. Launches Alzheimer's Amyloid Test at Scientific Conference in Vienna
TORONTO, July 15 /CNW/ - Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on treatments and diagnostics for brain wasting diseases is presenting a paper today at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD2009) entitled "A(4): An Ultrasensitive Method for the Detection of Aggregated beta-Amyloid". The hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the aggregation and accumulation of beta-amyloid as plaques in the brain. The A(4) assay can detect beta-amyloid in standard animal models of AD several months before conventional microscopic procedures and hence can accelerate the preclinical screening of new drugs for AD. In addition, the assay is significantly more sensitive than current methods for detecting total Abeta and can be used in high-through-put applications designed to study the inhibition of amyloid formation.
"We are very pleased with the initial response from the pharmaceutical and academic communities to our amyloid testing service," said Dr. George Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Amorfix. "There are over 300 companies and thousands of researchers studying AD and seeking new treatments, who could benefit from this sensitive and specific test for beta-amyloid."
Last year, there were over 5,400 attendees at ICAD2008. Amorfix will be accepting orders for the testing service from researchers who wish to characterize the rate of beta-amyloid formation in animals or tissue culture at its Exposition Booth number 327.
About Amorfix
Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. (TSX:AMF - News) is a theranostics company developing therapeutic products and diagnostic devices targeting brain-wasting diseases including ALS, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). Amorfix's proprietary Epitope Protection(TM) (EP) technology enables it to specifically identify very low levels of aggregated misfolded proteins (AMP) in a sample of normal protein. Aggregated misfolded proteins are a common element of many brain wasting diseases and the ability to identify AMPs and understand their structure and mechanism of folding are the first steps to developing new treatments for these devastating diseases. Amorfix's lead programs are a diagnostic blood screening test for vCJD and a therapy for ALS.
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For further information
Dr. George Adams, President & Chief Executive Officer, Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd., Tel: (416) 847-6959, Fax: (416) 847-6899, george.adams@amorfix.com Dr. Louise Scrocchi, Research Scientist, Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd., Tel: (416) 847-6971, Fax: (416) 847-6899, louise.scrocchi@amorfix.com