EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- KineMed, Inc., a pathway based drug discovery and development company, announced a poster presentation at the Society for Neuroscience 2006 meeting in Atlanta, GA. The presentation described the discovery of novel neurogenic drugs using KineMed's method for quantifying progenitor cell proliferation and neurogenesis in vivo in the hippocampus, a brain region that is implicated in disorders of mood and cognition and in neurodegenerative diseases.
As covered by the poster entitled, "Discovery of novel neurogenic agents using heavy water labeling for measuring in vivo hippocampal neurogenesis" presented yesterday (session # 476.3), the Company has demonstrated that KineMed's stable isotope labeling and mass spectrometric analysis technology has the unique ability to quantify the formation of new cells in the brain, and that the proliferation of new cells in the hippocampus is a highly sensitive and high-throughput assay for discovering new drugs. Data are presented confirming the neurogenic effects of several classes of known anti- depressant drugs and, most importantly, the discovery of several previously unrecognized neurogenic drugs. These findings will be published in the December issue (Volume 319, Shankaran et al.) of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
David M. Fineman, President and Chief Executive Officer of KineMed stated, "These data exemplify KineMed's leadership position as the premiere company in identifying authentic biomarkers specific to a fundamental biologic process and disease state."
Marc Hellerstein, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of KineMed, stated, "The neurogenic theory of depression has received considerable attention in recent years but had previously been difficult to test fully or exploit as a strategy for new drug discovery. KineMed's biomarker of hippocampal neurogenesis is shown here to be remarkably reproducible and sensitive to the neurogenic actions of various compounds. The fact that two new classes of neurogenic agents were discovered in their first dry run at screening, and that these compounds are already documented to have clear dose-response relationships, shared class effects, and comparable or superior potency to drugs like Prozac (fluoxetine), is extraordinary." Dr. Hellerstein concluded, "These early discoveries with KineMed's biomarker of neurogenesis once again confirm the power of pathway-based Indications Discovery, when the pathways measured are in vivo and are highly sensitive."
KineMed KineMarker(TM) Product Programs in Neurobiology
KineMed's proprietary in vivo KineMarker(TM) assays provide new, sensitive and high-throughput measures of several key biological pathways involved in the pathogenesis and treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. These assays can be used in clinical, as well as, preclinical settings.
KineMed's Neurogenesis KineMarker(TM) is much more sensitive, reproducible and high-throughput than traditional methods, such as histological staining, and is also safer than radioisotope labeling methods.
Other areas of neurobiology where KineMed has active discovery programs include ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and diabetic neuropathy, as well as disorders of Learning and Memory.
About KineMed, Inc.
KineMed, Inc. ("KineMed" or the "Company") is a pathway based drug development company employing its proprietary biomarker technology (AquaTag(TM) and KineMarker(TM)) to efficiently translate compounds (chemistry) into drugs (desired biological effect). The Company is working to develop drugs both on its own and with pharma collaborators in therapeutic focus areas where it can demonstrate functional modulation of specific biological pathways that mediate disease.
KineMed's technology expedites the drug development process and provides real-time insight into conditions including metabolic disorders, cancer, and diseases of inflammation and neurodegeneration.
For further information about KineMed, please visit: http://www.kinemed.com
KineMed, Inc.CONTACT: Brent Vaughan, Chief Business Officer of KineMed, Inc.,+1-510-655-6525, ext. 110; or Media: Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan,+1-212-213-0006, jjackson@burnsmc.com, for KineMed, Inc.
Web site: http://www.kinemed.com/
