ALZPROTECT DEVELOPS AN INNOVATIVE TREATMENT AND EXPANDS ITS CLINICAL TRIALS, FOLLOWING VERY POSITIVE RESULT
Alzprotect, a biopharmaceutical company based in Lille, is currently testing an innovative drug
against a neurodegenerative disease closely related to Alzheimer’s disease. The very good results
obtained have allowed Alzprotect to extend the clinical trial of this treatment for 6 months, and to
prepare a larger scale study. The molecule being tested, AZP2006, offers a mode of action radically
different from existing treatments, and brings considerable hope to all the patients concerned.
Alzprotect is financed by the Xerys Invest funds (Paris).
Alzprotect, a French biopharmaceutical company, is testing an innovative drug against Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a neurodegenerative disease closely related to Alzheimer’s disease.
The molecule being tested, AZP2006, proposes a fundamentally distinct mechanism of action compared to existing treatments: it is the first to target all the causes of neurodegeneration, by stimulating the action of a protein essential to the functioning of the brain, Progranulin. This mode of action makes the molecule capable of acting on several neurodegenerative diseases. The Lille University Hospital, the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, and the Adolphe de Rothschild
Foundation Hospital are participating in the clinical trials.
The clinical trials, currently in phase 2a, were conducted in three centers: the Lille University Hospital under the direction of Professor Defebvre, the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital with Professor Corvol, and the Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital with Dr. Obadia. The study revealed promising results: the treatment was perfectly tolerated, And the first signs of efficacy have been observed and will need to be confirmed in the upcoming phase 2/3 study.
These good results have allowed the extension of the trial: patients will be able to benefit from the treatment for an additional 6 months, thanks to the approval granted by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) and the Committee for the Protection of Persons (CPP). Furthermore, Alzprotect is preparing a larger phase 2/3 trial, in Europe and the United States, to test the efficacy of the molecule over a 12-month treatment period.
A molecule capable of targeting several neurodegenerative diseases
« The extension of this phase 2a clinical trial is good news for the patients who participated in it, and will reinforce the promising results for the AZP2006 molecule, says Pr. Jean-Christophe Corvol, Professor of Neuropharmacology and head of the Neurology Department at Pitié-Salpêtrière. More generally, this decision represents additional hope for patients suffering from PSP, a debilitating andrare neurodegenerative disease, for which no treatment has been able to halt the progression to date.».
« This progress concerns not only the patients involved, but also potentially people suffering from other neurodegenerative diseases,” adds Philippe Verwaerde, CEO of Alzprotect. “We plan to launch trials with patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, or even Parkinson’s disease, very soon».
About Alzprotect
Alzprotect imagines and develops therapeutic solutions to slow down or stop neurodegenerative diseases and restore patients’ brain capacity. Founded in 2007, Alzprotect is a French Lille-based company created by Dr. André Delacourte, one of the pioneers of research on Alzheimer’s disease, and Dr. Patricia Melnyk, expert in medicinal chemistry, in collaboration with Lille 2 University and INSERM. The company employs 8 people and is supported by BPI France, the National Research Agency and Eurasanté. Alzprotect is committed to the development of innovative therapeutic solutions in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. Alzprotect has 4 international patent families covering the medicines it develops and their indications worldwide. Alzprotect is supported by Xerys funds since 2017. For more information: www.alzprotect.com and LinkedIn.
About Xerys Invest
Xerys Invest is a French investment company which primarily invests in the healthcare & Life Sciences, renewable energy and GreenTech sectors. As such, Xerys Invest supports companies in industries undergoing major transformations to address economic, environmental, and societal challenges and which have great ambitions for their growth and international expansion. In its market, Xerys Invest stands out as much for its modus operandi and the strategic and operational support it provides to portfolio companies, as for the range of à la carte investment opportunities offered to investors and for its close relations with them, or its sector-based approach. Also, Xerys Invest has considerable sector expertise, bolstered by a strategic committee made up of recognized specialists and experts in key sectors.
Contact presse – Agence Beyond
Najette Chaib – nchaib@beyondcom.fr 06 18 38 11 14
