ProMis Neurosciences Announces Formation Of Prestigious Scientific Advisory And Business Advisory Boards

TSX: PMN

TORONTO, Jan. 26, 2016 /CNW/ - ProMIS Neurosciences, dedicated to development of precision medicine therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases is pleased to announce the formation of its two key advisory boards to accelerate company development. ProMIS' first products will focus on more effective treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). ProMIS Neurosciences is currently in the process of identifying and validating epitopes specific to misfolded, propagating strains of Amyloid beta involved in Alzheimer's disease.

Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
The ProMis SAB brings together a multidisciplinary group of specialists in Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative disease along with experts in toxic, prion-like misfolded proteins. The current members of the Company's SAB are:

• Todd E. Golde, MD, PhD, is Director of the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of Florida where he directs a robust program of scientific discovery aimed at translating basic discoveries in neurodegenerative disease into diagnostics and treatments for patients. Dr. Golde is co-chair of the SAB;
• Neil R. Cashman, MD, is Chief Science Officer at ProMIS Neurosciences and Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Neurodegeneration and Protein Misfolding Diseases, and serves as the Director of the UBC ALS Centre. Dr. Cashman is recognized as a pioneer in the field of prion-like misfolded proteins and their role in development of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular ALS and AD. Neil Cashman is co-chair of the SAB;
• Lary C. Walker, PhD, is Associate Professor of Neurology and Research Professor at Emory University Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Lary Walker's research has been directed toward understanding the mechanisms by which the Alzheimer-associated proteins Amyloid beta and tau form pathogenic assemblies in vivo and how these agents spread in the brain.

Commenting as co-chair of the SAB, Dr. Golde stated: "there is a strong  consensus that a prion-like protein misfolding mechanism that promotes the growth and accumulation of protein aggregates plays a triggering role in the neurodegenerative cascade in many neurologic disorders including Alzheimer's and ALS. I am delighted to co-chair this exciting SAB with a focus on developing precision medicine therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease".

Business Advisory Board
The ProMIS Business Advisory Board brings together recognized leaders in the fields of biotech business management, diagnostic product development and monoclonal antibody design and manufacture. The current members of the business advisory board are:

• Mara G. Aspinall, MBA, is a diagnostic industry pioneer. She is Executive Chairman of GenePeeks, a company leading a paradigm shift at the intersection of personalized medicine and computational genomics with genetic testing. Mara is the former President and CEO of Ventana Medical Systems, a division of Roche Group, a worldwide leader in the development and commercialization of tissue-based cancer diagnostics;
• Nigel Burns, PhD, has over 20 years' experience in the biotech sector, in particular in the field of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of chronic disease. Nigel has has held a series of industry leadership roles including Senior Vice President of Cambridge Antibody Technology, and most recently, CEO and Founder of Sweet Spot Therapeutics Ltd. Nigel was entrepreneur-in-residence for Imperial Innovations and has served on multiple national and international scientific and industry advisory boards and committees;
• Michael Higgins, MBA, is currently an entrepreneur-in-residence at Polaris Partners, and a Director of Voyager Therapeutics.   Previously, he was COO and CFO at Ironwood, which he helped take public in 2010. Prior to Ironwood Mr. Higgins held a variety of leadership roles at Genzyme, including Vice President of Corporate Finance and Vice President of Business Development, and was involved with multiple business units, including Cell Therapy, Gene Therapy and Orphan Diseases.

Commenting as a member of the Business Advisory Board, Mara Aspinall stated: "Precision medicine is leading to significantly improved outcomes in multiple cancers. I expect that the next area to see improvements in therapy due to precision medicine is neurodegenerative disease. ProMIS' work to identify meaningful patient subsets in Alzheimer's and ALS may be transformational to our understanding of how these diseases can be diagnosed and treated".

Reflecting on the role of the advisory boards, Elliot Goldstein, ProMIS President and CEO, stated: "our number one goal is to create the appropriate precision therapeutics and companion diagnostics to address the scourge of AD. We are delighted and encouraged by the outstanding quality and expertise of our two advisory boards and look forward to their insights and guidance".

About ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.
The mission of ProMIS Neurosciences is to discover and develop precision medicine therapeutics for the early detection and effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease and ALS.

ProMIS Neurosciences' proprietary target discovery engine is based on the use of two, complementary techniques. The Company applies its thermodynamic, computational discovery platformProMIS and Collective Coordinates to predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes (DSEs) on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique "precision medicine" approach, ProMIS Neurosciences aims to develop novel antibody therapeutics and specific companion diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease and ALS. The company has also developed two proprietary technologies to specifically identify very low levels of misfolded proteins in a biological sample. In addition, ProMIS Neurosciences owns the exclusive rights to the genus patent relating to misfolded SOD1 in ALS, and currently has a preclinical monoclonal antibody therapeutic against this target.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information release may contain certain forward-looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.