Searching For Novel Therapeutics for Treating Alzheimer's Disease

Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Medisyn Technologies Announce Agreement to Discover Novel Therapeutics for Treating Alzheimer's Disease

September 13, 2007 - NEW YORK & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) and Medisyn Technologies today announced a collaboration for the development of novel ?-amyloid (A?) lowering drugs as a treatment in Alzheimer's disease. Starting with MSSM's previous research data obtained from testing early-stage lead compounds, the collaboration utilizes Medisyn Technologies' molecular topology Forward EngineeringT platform to build a diverse pipeline of Alzheimer's disease drug candidates. The goal of the study is to complete in vivo efficacy validation of the novel drug candidates by the end of 2007.

It is estimated that 4.5 Americans currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease - a number that has doubled since 1980 and is expected to reach 12-16 million by 2050. There are currently no approved drugs to prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys cognitive function. Drugs that are currently available treat the symptoms of the disease, while the MSSM/Medisyn Technology candidates are designed to significantly slow the decline in cognitive function and thereby improve the patients' quality of life. The total US market for pharmaceuticals directed at neurodegenerative diseases was $16.5 billion in 2006.

Under the collaboration, Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and Geriatrics and Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Translational Research Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry at MSSM provided a recently identified set of lead compounds that were effective in reducing the generation of endogenous A?1-40 and A?1-42 peptides in primary neuron cultures. The efficacy data along with in vitro toxicity data have been correlated with Medisyn's empirical, activity-based molecular topological methodology to dissect specific molecular features of the lead compounds. The combined approach has identified 24 diverse new lead compounds from which 21 compounds and 16 compounds tested active for lowering A?1-40 and A?1-42 peptides respectively. Presently 10 compounds meet all property parameters for potency and low toxicity, with two of them showing a 10 fold increase in potency over the most potent compounds in the MSSM lead set.

The collaboration's in vitro evidence substantiated that a set of drugs could be used to build a predictive model for A?-lowering activity in vitro. Ongoing activity-based topological studies will provide clarification of the molecular features responsible for A?-lowering activities in vivo including the absence of aversive hypotensive side effects, low toxicity, high bioavailability and high penetration across the blood-brain barrier. Validated and characterized lead compounds will be out-licensed to pharmaceutical companies for further clinical development. Commercialization rights will be shared between MSSM and Medisyn Technologies.

Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, stated that "We are extremely pleased to announce this collaboration with Medisyn Technologies and the preliminary results achieved. The combination of Medisyn's molecular topology platform together with the research advances and experience at MSSM creates a highly efficient team capable of identifying, discovering and validating novel compounds for treatment of AD that are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry."

"The in vitro results have been outstanding and bode well for success of the in vivo phase under development," said David Land, President of Minneapolis-based Medisyn Technologies. "By next applying the core competencies of Medisyn's proven Forward EngineeringT discovery engine to MSSM's pre-clinical in vivo work and therapeutic expertise, we anticipate rapid identification of new validated in vivo leads to build a diverse pre-clinical pipeline of drug candidates for treating AD."

About Mount Sinai School of Medicine

The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation's oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. Founded in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,171-bed tertiary-care teaching facility that is internationally acclaimed for excellence in clinical care. Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients, and there were nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the Medical Center.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized as a leader in groundbreaking clinical and basic-science research, as well as having an innovative approach to medical education. With a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38 clinical and basic science departments and centers, Mount Sinai ranks among the top 20 medical schools in receipt of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants.

About Medisyn Technologies

Medisyn Technologies is a unique small molecule design company that uses proprietary technology to make drug discovery faster, more predictable and less expensive. Based on molecular topology, Medisyn's Forward EngineeringT platform enables the design of novel, diverse and unexpected compounds that meet exact parameters for a specific therapeutic use. By compressing design and discovery time from years to weeks and optimizing lead candidates, Medisyn's novel approach enables drug discovery customers to reduce risk, improve probability of success and control costs associated with the traditional lead discovery process. For more information about Medisyn Technologies, visit the company's website at: http://www.medisyntech.com or call 952.475.8084.

Contacts

Latitude
Pam Pettinella, 952-404-1853
pam@latitude-c.com