Cortexyme, Inc. announced the first cohort has been dosed in the initial trial of its phase 1 clinical development program for COR388, the company’s lead compound. COR388 is a first-in-class bacterial protease inhibitor that targets a pathogen identified in brain tissue and cerebral spinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It represents a promising new approach to addressing a disease estimated to affect more than 5.4 million Americans. COR388 is the first compound developed by Cortexyme to advance into clinical trials. The company’s drug discovery and development efforts are based on wide-ranging scientific evidence demonstrating Alzheimer’s symptoms and pathology are triggered by a specific pathogen discovered in the brains of patients with the disease by Cortexyme’s co-founder and chief scientific officer, Stephen Dominy, M.D. COR388 is designed to inhibit this pathogen in a way that broad spectrum antibiotics cannot, rescuing neurons from bacterial toxicity and preventing further cognitive decline and dysfunction. The phase 1 clinical development program for COR388 also includes a multiple ascending dose study in older healthy volunteers and AD patients that is planned to start shortly. This second study will enroll 36 subjects in four cohorts and will assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of COR388 administered in older populations for up to 28 days. In addition, this study will evaluate target engagement biomarkers and other exploratory pharmacodynamic measures in its AD cohort.