Tiaki Therapeutics Presents Data on Identification of a Novel Target for Neuroinflammatory-driven Neurodegenerative Disease Validated by Its Systems Biology Platform

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tiaki Therapeutics, a company developing treatments for patients suffering from age-related dementias by targeting the neuroinflammation that drives cognitive decline, announced today the presentation of data on the discovery of a novel target for neurodegenerative disease. Additional targets are being actively pursued by the company in ongoing drug development based on Tiaki’s systems biology platform. Data on the novel target identification and the company’s proprietary systems biology platform are being presented today at Neuroscience 2019, the 49^th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, being held October 19-23 in Chicago, IL.

The presentation at Neuroscience 2019 describes Tiaki’s approach to targeting microglia, the immune cells of the brain, to address inflammatory-driven CNS disorders, with the goal of protecting neuronal health and improving cognitive function. Using the company’s proprietary systems biology platform, Tiaki scientists have identified targets that mitigate the neuroinflammatory transcriptomic signature observed in patients with neurodegenerative disease. Tiaki’s proprietary systems biology platform of chronic neuroinflammation continues to enable the interrogation of microglial targets for the discovery of multiple disease-modifying therapeutics.

“This is an exciting time for Tiaki as we advance active drug development programs for neuroinflammation based on novel targets discovered with our platform,” said Suzanne Bruhn, PhD, chief executive officer of Tiaki. “The data we are sharing with the neuroscience community demonstrates our unique drug discovery approach, anchored in the alignment of human patient data with our systems biology model, to identify microglial targets that affect neuronal function and enable a new generation of therapeutics .”

The neuroinflammatory signature of Tiaki’s systems biology platform was validated by comparing transcriptomes from either the whole slice (all CNS cell types) or isolated microglia to transcriptomes from patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between the gene expression signature observed in the adult ex vivo brain slice assay and gene expression data from Alzheimer’s disease patients. Tiaki’s assay is uniquely positioned to provide longitudinal transcriptomic and proteomic signatures for CNS health and disease, as well as biomarkers for target engagement and compound efficacy.

About Tiaki Therapeutics
Tiaki Therapeutics is developing first-in-class therapeutics that target microglia, the immune cells of the brain, to address inflammatory-driven CNS disorders and protect cognitive function. The company has developed a proprietary systems biology platform that preserves the complex biological interactions of brain cells and models the specific transcriptomic signature of neuroinflammation in dementia patients. This discovery engine recapitulates the fully integrated cellular communication that is dysregulated in CNS disease and facilitates identification of novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers. Tiaki’s near-term focus is on therapeutics that counteract the neuroinflammation associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Tiaki was founded by the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), a mission-driven venture capital fund at the forefront of therapeutics for the treatment of dementias. For more information, visit www.tiakitx.com.

Follow Tiaki on social media: @TiakiTx and on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191021005501/en/