Axovant Release: Leigh Steinberg Joins Retired NFL Players In Highlighting Need For Greater Participation In Alzheimer's Clinical Trials

NEW YORK, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Leigh Steinberg, the legendary sports agent and inspiration for the film "Jerry Maguire," is joining retired NFL players in calling attention to the need for greater participation in Alzheimer's clinical trials.  

Steinberg is set to speak at the "Huddle Up for New Alzheimer's Treatments" event on May 5 in Westlake Village, Calif., where he will team with campaign ambassadors Solomon Wilcots and Ron Pitts as well as Dr. Omid Rabbani, a Ventura County neurologist who is an investigator in Axovant Sciences' MINDSET study. Topics covered at the event will include Alzheimer's disease, the importance of clinical research participation and the MINDSET study. Dr. Rabbani will also offer free memory screenings. 

"Alzheimer's disease impacts all of us in some way," said Steinberg, who is chairman and CEO of Steinberg Sports & Entertainment. "When I learned that former NFL players were joining together for this campaign and I saw firsthand the overwhelming response during Super Bowl week, I knew immediately that I wanted to get involved. This campaign is about encouraging Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers to participate in clinical trials. We encourage anyone diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or dealing with memory loss to join us at a Huddle Up event along with their loved ones. With the expanded line-up of former players that is expected to continue to grow, Huddle Up for New Alzheimer's Treatments has become a movement with significant meaning."       

Retired NFL players including Joe Rose, Solomon Wilcots, Joey Harrington, Ron Pitts, Christian Fauria and Steve Tasker are part of the Huddle Up roster. Events last week in Miami and Cincinnati were well-attended with the next seminars, in addition to the one in Westlake Village, set for Portland, Ore.; Boston; and Toronto. Additional seminars and memory screenings will follow.

"Leigh is true trailblazer who created an industry," said Wilcots. "With his vision, passion and frequent media work, he can help us to bring Huddle Up for New Alzheimer's Treatments to the largest audience possible. This is the week of the NFL Draft one in which future stars and MVPs will make their entrance to professional football. As I have said from the beginning of Huddle Up, when we talk about the fight against Alzheimer's, the MVPs are the individuals and their caregivers who participate in clinical trials. Without them, we have no chance of getting much-needed new medicines over the goal line."

Leigh Steinberg founded his sports law practice in 1975, when he negotiated a then-record contract for NFL first overall draft pick Steve Bartkowski. Since then, Steinberg has continuously represented the top players in the NFL, MLB and NBA. He has been named Man of the Year over a dozen times by organizations that include the March of Dimes, Cedars Sinai, the Southern California Boy Scouts, the Orange County and Los Angeles Human Relations Commissions, and the Orange County and Los Angeles divisions of the Anti-Defamation League. An accomplished speaker, Steinberg has traveled the world addressing topics ranging from sports and entertainment to political and economic issues. He is a blogger for Forbes and the Huffington Post and is the author of the 1998 best-seller, "Winning with Integrity." Steinberg's autobiography, "The Agent," was released in early 2014.

Alzheimer's disease affects more than 5 million people in the U.S. alone and is now the sixth-leading cause of death in the country.

Sponsored by Axovant Sciences Ltd., MINDSET is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating an investigational new drug candidate for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease known as RVT-101. RVT-101 is being studied as an add-on therapy to donepezil, the most widely used Alzheimer's disease treatment today. MINDSET's objective is to confirm the results of a prior 684-patient study in which the combination of RVT-101 and donepezil was observed to provide statistically significant evidence of benefit to patients as compared to donepezil alone. RVT-101 has not been approved for any indication in any market.  The MINDSET study could be the final step before RVT-101 is considered for approval by the FDA and regulatory bodies in other countries.  For more information on MINDSET, visit www.alzheimersglobalstudy.com.

Click here to watch the Huddle Up for New Alzheimer's Treatments campaign video.

Huddle Up for New Alzheimer's Treatments: Los Angeles Sports Stars

Learn about Alzheimer's disease, the importance of clinical research participation and clinical research opportunities.  Free memory screenings will be offered.

Remarks and Q&A by:

Dr. Omid Rabbani Neurologist, Southern California Research
Leigh Steinberg Legendary Sports Agent, Inspiration for the Film "Jerry Maguire"
Solomon Wilcots CBS Sports, NFL Alum, LA Native
Ron Pitts Sportscaster, NFL Alum, UCLA Bruin

WHEN:

Thursday, May 5, 2016
5 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Light dinner will be served
5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Program, including Q&A
6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Individual memory screenings for those interested; the memory screenings are 10-15 minutes in length

WHERE:

Hyatt Regency Westlake Vista B Ballroom
880 South Westlake Blvd
Westlake Village           

RSVP online at www.HuddleUpLA.eventbrite.com

Call Southern California Research in Simi Valley at (805) 350-7878 for more information.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leigh-steinberg-joins-retired-nfl-players-in-highlighting-need-for-greater-participation-in-alzheimers-clinical-trials-300257246.html

SOURCE Axovant Sciences Ltd.