KIRKLAND, Wash., Feb 13 /PRNewswire/ -- ProteoTech Inc. today announced that The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) will provide up to $3.1 million in funding to a team led by ProteoTech to support development of a new disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson’s disease. ProteoTech and its consortium of world-class researchers will use this funding to further develop a class of compounds designed to disrupt or inhibit the accumulation of a protein associated with the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease.
The award is made under MJFF’s LEAPS (Linked Efforts to Accelerate Parkinson’s Solutions) initiative. LEAPS are multi-year, multi-million dollar grants awarded to top research teams to address questions that will have significant practical impact on the understanding and treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Using proprietary screening assays, ProteoTech has identified a new compound class that targets the formation and persistence of the protein known as alpha-synuclein. This protein is associated with the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease. ProteoTech believes that by blocking the formation and persistence of alpha-synuclein in brain cells, it can prevent further cell loss and potentially halt the progression of Parkinson’s disease.
As part of the LEAPS project, compounds shown by ProteoTech to be effective in test tube assays will be tested in cellular and animal models of Parkinson’s disease. The project team’s three-year goal is to select a lead compound and conduct the preclinical testing needed to file an application with FDA for human clinical trials.
“We are excited to be recognized for our groundbreaking research and look forward to working with a stellar team of researchers that we have assembled to develop a disease-modifying drug that we anticipate will help slow or even reverse the progression of Parkinson’s disease,” said Alan D. Snow, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer at ProteoTech.
The ProteoTech consortium will include: -- Alan D. Snow, Ph.D., ProteoTech (Coordinating Project Leader) -- Eliezer Masliah, M.D., Professor, Neurosciences and Pathology, University of California, San Diego -- Benjamin Wolozin, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Boston University -- Daniel Kirschner, Ph.D., M.D., Professor of Biology, Boston College -- Manfred Weigele, Ph.D., Chemist and Consultant, Co-Founder of Ariad Pharmaceuticals and former Director of Chemistry/Research, Hoffman-La Roche Inc. -- Anil Kumar, Ph.D., CEO and Lead Chemist, MedChem Source, LLP
“We look forward to working with Dr. Snow and ProteoTech, as well as with their LEAPS colleagues at the five partner institutions, on developing a potentially breakthrough treatment for Parkinson’s disease,” said Deborah W. Brooks, MJFF President and CEO.
About The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Founded in 2000, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is dedicated to ensuring the development of a cure for Parkinson’s disease within this decade through an aggressively funded research agenda. The Foundation has funded approximately $63 million in research to date, either directly or through partnerships.
About ProteoTech Inc.
ProteoTech is a world leader in the research and development of new therapeutics derived from proteoglycan and amyloid technologies for the treatment of major human diseases. ProteoTech is developing disease-modifying therapeutics for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes, and systemic amyloidosis. The company’s most advanced drug, Exebryl(TM)-1, is among a proprietary set of compounds discovered by ProteoTech designed to inhibit and disrupt the amyloid fibril process. Exebryl(TM)-1 has been shown in animal models to markedly reduce/cause a clearance of brain amyloid plaque deposition in old Alzheimer’s transgenic animals and cause marked improvements/reversal in memory impairments. ProteoTech has over 85 patents issued/pending in its intellectual property estate. For more information or to inquire about opportunities to invest in ProteoTech, please contact Dr. Alan D. Snow, President and Chief Scientific Officer, at snow@proteotech.com.
ProteoTech Inc.
CONTACT: Dennis L. McCurley of ProteoTech Inc., +1-425-823-4844
Web site: http://www.proteotech.com//
