NEW YORK, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Senex Biotechnology, Inc. presented today new results from its drug discovery program at the 8th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Discovery in New York. Dr. Igor Roninson, the President of Senex, described the identification of the first drug candidates that block aging cells from producing excessive amounts of several proteins involved in Alzheimer’s disease, including: amyloid precursor protein (APP); BACE1 that converts APP to beta-amyloid; and tissue transglutaminase (TGM2) that cross-links beta-amyloid to form amyloid plaques. Excessive accumulation of beta amyloid and amyloid plaques is believed to cause the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The signaling pathway targeted by Senex compounds was also implicated in cancer and some other diseases of old age, providing additional disease targets for drug development.
Because of their unique mechanism of action, Senex drug candidates only inhibit aging-associated increases in Alzheimer’s disease-associated proteins, and therefore, may be better tolerated than drug candidates that reduce APP and APP-converting enzyme activities below normal levels.
In a study first reported by Dr. Roninson in 2000 and awarded the first annual Life Extension Prize, human cells that cease dividing were discovered to increase the production of many proteins that promote the development of Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and several other diseases associated with old age. Senex scientists have developed and applied a proprietary high-throughput screening assay for compounds that prevent the induction of such proteins in non-dividing cells. The lead class of active compounds identified by Senex inhibits the induction of disease-associated genes and changes the typical “aged” (senescent) appearance of cells that cease dividing. These compounds also increase the activity of tumor-suppressor proteins that prevent the development of cancers. Senex is planning to develop its proprietary compounds as pharmaceutical agents.
Geneticist Richard Davidson, Ph.D., former Head of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Illinois at Chicago and currently Administrative Director of Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, commented, “The relatively recent discovery that aging cells overproduce proteins that cause Alzheimer’s and other age-related diseases was one of the most striking findings in the field of functional genomics, made possible by the sequencing of the human genome. It is exciting to see how rapidly a genomics discovery can lead to the development of pharmaceuticals that may potentially help seniors to lead healthier lives.”
About Senex Biotechnology
Senex Biotechnology, Inc. is a privately-held drug discovery and development company in Albany, NY, which is developing drugs against cancer and major diseases of old age, by targeting signaling pathways activated in the process of cell senescence (aging).
Cautionary Statement
Some of the statements included in this press release, particularly those anticipating future the financial performance and clinical and business prospects for Senex products, may be forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Among the factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are the following: our ability to successfully complete the optimization and development of our drug product candidates; manufacturing capabilities or other factors; and other risk factors. Any forward-looking statements set forth in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof.
For more information, contact info@senexbio.com.
CONTACT: Igor Roninson of Senex Biotechnology, Inc., +1-518-727-5152,
info@senexbio.com
Web site: http://www.senexbio.com/
