NEW YORK, April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. , announced today that it has obtained a Notice of Allowance and completed the grant requirements to obtain a European patent relating to the Company’s ANTISENILIN(R) antibodies and products being developed by the Company for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Grant of the European patent is expected in several weeks. Other patents related to the ANTISENILIN(R) antibodies have been granted in Japan, China and elsewhere. Patent applications are pending in the United States. Intellect Neurosciences is the exclusive assignee of the ANTISENILIN(R) patents, which are based on the invention of Dr. Daniel Chain, the Company’s Chairman and CEO.
Dr. Chain commented: “The use of ANTISENILIN(R) monoclonal antibodies that specifically target the toxic forms of beta amyloid is at the forefront of the battle against Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to the Company’s products in development, our invention has been applied to promising drug candidates in clinical development by major pharmaceutical companies.”
“Intellect’s ANTISENILIN(R) antibody technology incorporates an important safety feature (“free-end specificity”), meaning that antibodies developed using the technology are designed to specifically block the neurotoxicity of beta amyloid, which accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The blocking of the neurotoxicity is achieved by promoting clearance of beta amyloid away from sites of damage while minimizing the potential for adverse effects,” explained Professor Donald Price, Professor of Pathology, Neurology and Neuroscience and Founding Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a member of Intellect’s Scientific Advisory Board. Professor Price added: “Dr. Chain’s idea of using antibodies in this way to reduce amyloid toxicity in the brain has gained considerable momentum over the past few years and we are currently optimistic that drugs of this type herald an exciting new era of drug development for safe and efficacious disease-modifying treatments for this devastating disease.”
About Intellect’s Immunotherapy Platforms for Alzheimer’s disease
Immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s disease involves making an antibody molecule available to bind to the endogenous beta-amyloid toxin, thus promoting its clearance away from the brain. This therapeutic outcome can be achieved either by provoking the patient’s immune system to generate such an antibody (active immunization) or by administering an externally generated antibody (passive immunization). Both approaches have the potential to slow or arrest disease progression provided that key safety issues are addressed. Intellect has incorporated proprietary safety features into its ANTISENILIN(R) and RECALL-VAX(TM) technology platforms for both passive and active immunization, respectively. These features and supporting patent position provides the Company with a strong competitive advantage in this field.
About Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is characterized by progressive loss of memory and cognition, ultimately leading to complete debilitation and death. A hallmark feature of Alzheimer’s pathology is the presence of insoluble protein deposits known as beta-amyloid on the surface of nerve cells, which results from the accumulation of soluble beta-amyloid in the brain. The effects of the disease are devastating to the patients as well as the caregivers, with significant associated health care costs. It is estimated that there are over 12 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in the in the developed countries with the number increasing also in developing countries as the global population ages. Currently marketed drugs transiently affect some of the symptoms of the disease, but there are no drugs on the market today that slow or arrest the progression of the disease. These symptomatic drugs are projected to generate approximately $4 billion in sales by 2008, indicating both the size of the market and the demand for effective treatment beyond symptomatic improvements.
About Intellect Neurosciences, Inc.
Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders. The company has a broad proprietary immunotherapy platform for both passive and active immunization against Alzheimer’s disease. Also, Intellect has recently completed Phase I clinical trials for OXIGON(TM), a unique antioxidant and anti-amyloid compound that has potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders. For additional information, please visit http://www.intellectns.com, or contact:
Safe Harbor Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this release and oral statements made by representatives of Intellect relating to matters that are not historical facts (including without limitation those regarding future performance or financial results, the timing or potential outcomes of research collaborations or clinical trials, any market that might develop for any of Intellect’s product candidates and the sufficiency of Intellect’s cash and other capital resources) are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the likelihood that actual performance or results could materially differ, that future research will prove successful, the likelihood that any product in the research pipeline will receive regulatory approval in the United States or abroad, or Intellect’s ability to fund such efforts with or without partners. Intellect undertakes no obligation to update any of these statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date hereof. Accordingly any forward-looking statements should be read in conjunction with the additional risks and uncertainties detailed in Intellect’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in Intellect’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSBA (file no. 1-10615) filed on October 19, 2007, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, filed on December 10, 2007 (file no. 1-10615), and for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, filed on February 19, 2008.
CONTACT: Elliot Maza, JD, CPA, President & Chief Financial Officer of
Intellect Neurosciences, Inc., +1-212-448-9300
Web site: http://www.intellectns.com/
