Alzheimer's disease is a condition affecting more than 27 million people worldwide and figure suggest this number will rise. Current treatments can only treat the symptoms. Little is relatively understood of the underlying cause of the disease.
Symptomatic treatment on average remains effective for 6-12 months, after which the natural evolution of the degenerative process begins to produce a progressive deterioration.
NeuroPharma's lead compound, NP-12, has a new mechanism of action that may slow the neurodegenerative process by inhibiting the GSK-3 enzyme involved in the excessive phosphorilation of the tau protein and in the deposit of neurofibrillary tangles, one of the neurodegenerative lesions associated with neuronal death and correlated with the dementia severity.
"Proof of efficacy in several animal models and the toxicological and safety regulatory studies have shown that NP-12 could be a promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease with an innovative therapeutic approach," said Ana Martínez, R&D Director of Neuropharma.
Alzheimer's disease, the most frequent cause of dementia in old people, is a serious degenerative disorder produced by a gradual loss of brain neurons. The cause of this illness is not known.
The brain of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease shows two main lesions: an intracellular lesion, neurofibrillary tangles formed by hyperphosphorylated tau protein, and an extra cellular lesion, senile plaques formed by the aggregation of beta amyloid peptide. Both of them are considered to provoke neuronal death.
Speaking at the 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) taking place in Madrid from 15th to 20th July, NeuroPharma revealed that it had designed the Phase I clinical development (safety assessment and dose escalation) to establish the safety of the compound in humans and define the optimal dose for the Phase II and III trials.
"To date, NP-12 has been administered to more than 30 subjects. We have not observed any relevant adverse event," said Teodoro del Ser, medical director of the Company.