In a July 29, 2008 presentation at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD 2008) in Chicago, scientists involved in a collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and TauRx Therapeutics discussed data demonstrating that their candidate drug, rember, appears to slow the progress of the Alzheimer’s disease. According to a press release from the University of Aberdeen as well as TauRx’s website, rember is a small molecule Tau Aggregation Inhibitor that targets the tangles (aggregates of abnormal fibres of tau protein) that form in nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
The data presented by the scientists indicated that patients receiving the therapeutic experienced an 81% reduction in cognitive decline over one year, and did not experience a significant decline in their mental function over the course of 19 months. Brain imaging data performed by TauRx was said to suggest that the drug had the most significant effect in the regions of the brain thought to be critical for memory function and where the tangle density is typically high.
Dr. Claude Wischik, TauRx’s Executive Chairman, and a Professor at the University of Aberdeen, characterized the Phase 2 clinical results as representing the first real hope that it may be possible to arrest progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Following up on this promising clinical data, TauRx is planning to begin a Phase 3 trial next year. If the Phase 3 trial confirms the Phase 2 findings, the drug could be available by 2012.
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