Allon Therapeutics, Inc. Advances Parkinson's Disease Program
March 12, 2012 at 06:13 pm
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Allon Therapeutics, Inc. announced the completion of its first phase of work in a preclinical Parkinson's disease (PD) model and advancement into the second phase of work. Both phases are funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) for Parkinson's Research and carried out by Prof. Marie-Francoise Chesselet's lab at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). The first phase of the project conducted experiments on young alpha-synuclein transgenic animals, a model for PD. Feedback from a recent review by MJFF scientists and an expert panel of scientific reviewers helped strengthen the study design of the second phase of the project, studying the effect of davunetide on aged transgenic animals with pronounced motor impairment and dopaminergic deterioration, similar to what is seen in mild-to-moderate PD patients. The company expects the results of these studies to be released in conjunction with publications or presentation at an international meeting at a later date. The company is currently conducting a fully enrolled pivotal trial testing davunetide in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and expects to complete patient dosing and release data by late 2012. PSP is a rapidly progressing and fatal neurodegenerative movement disorder often misdiagnosed as PD. Allon believes that success in treating PSP with davunetide would define the opportunity to use davunetide in other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
Allon Therapeutics, Inc. is a Canada-based Company, which develops treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. The Company is engaged in pre-clinical and clinical development of proprietary neuroprotective compounds which may be applied for the potential treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, senile dementia, glaucoma, traumatic head injury, neuronal damage due to stroke and other conditions involving neurodegeneration. The Company's drug, davunetide, is proceeding in a pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial in an orphan indication, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).