Katexco Pharmaceuticals Co-founder, Director and Chairman Presents New Multiple Sclerosis Research at 2018 Feinstein Institute Marsh Lecture

TORONTO, /PRNewswire/ -- Katexco Pharmaceuticals, a medical cannabis company developing innovative, orally available therapies harnessing endocannabinoid and nicotine receptors to treat inflammatory diseases, today announced that the Company’s Co-founder, Director and Chairman, Professor Lawrence Steinman, presented his latest research into the role that amyloid proteins, which are often thought to be the cause of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, play in slowing immune response in patients with multiple sclerosis (M.S.) at the 2018 Marsh Lecture in Molecular Medicine. Hosted by the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the presentation took place on Nov. 1 in Manhasset, N.Y.

“Our research in collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Rothbard, Katexco CEO, shows how proteins that form structures known as amyloid suppress inflammation. This discovery led directly to the identification of its receptor on immune cells,” said Professor Steinman. “Katexco is designing molecules to target this anti-inflammatory receptor on white blood cells and will test these novel molecules in clinical trials to suppress unwanted inflammation in the brain and elsewhere. As multiple sclerosis is one of Katexco’s primary target indications, this research may lead to effective treatments for M.S. patients with progressive forms of the disease, a group with high unmet medical needs all over the world.”

The Feinstein Institute’s Marsh Lecture was established as a forum for renowned scientists to share their expertise with Feinstein Institute investigators. Made possible by an endowment from the late Leonard Marsh and his family, the Marsh Lecture honors the memory of Leonard Marsh, co-founder of Snapple Beverage Corporation and a major supporter of the Feinstein Institute. Leonard Marsh’s enthusiasm for new ideas and innovations continue to inspire the Feinstein Institute scientific faculty and staff.

About Katexco Pharmaceuticals
Katexco Pharmaceuticals is a medical cannabis company developing innovative, orally available therapies harnessing endocannabinoid and nicotine receptors to treat inflammatory diseases. Formed by Dr. Jonathan Rothbard and Professor Lawrence Steinman, the Company is developing the world’s first drug to exploit a key receptor on immune cells in the brain with the ability to treat inflammatory diseases.

About Professor Lawrence Steinman
Professor Steinman, MD, received his BA (physics) from Dartmouth in 1968 and MD from Harvard in 1973. He had a fellowship in chemical immunology at the Weizmann Institute (1974-1977) and was an intern and resident at Stanford University Medical School. Steinman served as Chair of the Interdepartmental Program in Immunology at Stanford from 2003-2011 and is currently the George A. Zimmermann Endowed Chair in the Neurology Department at Stanford. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Medicine and National Academy of Sciences. Steinman received the Frederic Sasse Award from the Free University of Berlin in 1994, John Dystel Prize in 2004 from the National MS Society, Charcot Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Multiple Sclerosis Research in 2011 from the International Federation of MS Societies and Cerami Prize for Translational Research in 2015.

Steinman served on the Board of Directors of Centocor, which was sold to Johnson and Johnson for $4.9B in 1998. He also founded Neurocrine Biosciences in 1992 and served on its Board of Directors. Lastly, he has founded three other companies: Tolerion, Transparency Life Sciences and Atreca. Steinman heads the Scientific Advisory Board at Transparency Life Sciences and also serves on the Board of Directors at Atreca and Tolerion.

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SOURCE Katexco Pharmaceuticals