NEW YORK, July 15, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (OTCBB:ILNS), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, today announced that it is pleased with the data presented on Bapineuzumab and Ponezumab (PF-04360365) at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (ICAD), taking place in Honolulu, HI from July 10-15.
Bapineuzumab, in Phase 3 clinical trials, is being co-developed by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, and Ponezumab, in Phase 2 trials, is being developed by Pfizer. Both drug candidates are based on the use of antibodies that uniquely bind molecular signatures at the ends of beta amyloid formed when the Aβ toxin is generated. This is the fundamental principle of Intellect's ANTISENILIN® technology, which is intended to promote the clearance of amyloid protein away from sites of damage in the brain while minimizing the potential for adverse effects that may result from less specific binding.
The Phase 2 Bapineuzumab data presented by Dr. Kaj Blennow from Lund University in Sweden showed that immunotherapy with Bapineuzumab lowers CSF Tau protein, which is considered to be an indicator of neuronal damage in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The Phase 1 Ponezumab data presented by Dr. Qinying Zhao of Pfizer showed favorable pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Ponezumab following a single dose intravenous infusion in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
Intellect's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Daniel Chain, who was attending the conference, commented: "We are gratified to see the progress being made by the large pharmaceutical companies that are independently developing drugs based on the technology that is the fundamental principle of our ANTISENILIN® technology for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. We are increasingly confident that these molecules will prove successful in clinical trials and herald a new generation of drugs that can slow down, arrest and ultimately prevent Alzheimer's disease. The Bapineuzumab data on reducing Tau levels is especially encouraging when taken together with the recent report of the medical journal Lancet Neurology (Vol. 9, Issue 4, Pages 363-372, April 2010) indicating that Alzheimer's patients receiving Bapineuzumab show a significant reduction in amyloid plaques."
Intellect has granted royalty-bearing licenses to its ANTISENILIN® patent estate to several top-tier global pharmaceutical companies that are currently developing monoclonal antibodies for Alzheimer's disease.
About Intellect Neurosciences, Inc.
Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. is a Manhattan-based biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders. The Company's drug product pipeline includes OX1, which has been tested in Phase 1 clinical trials; IN-N01, a humanized monoclonal antibody designed to promote the clearance of soluble amyloid beta; and RECALL-VAX, a vaccine technology that has the potential to delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease in people who are at risk.
The Company has significant intellectual property assets, which include several patent families underlying the Company's internal programs, and a pivotal patent estate regarding passive AD immunotherapy.
The Company's ANTISENILIN® patent estate claims monoclonal antibodies that bind either end of amyloid beta but do not interact with the amyloid precursor protein from which amyloid beta is produced in the body. This high degree of specificity is an important safety feature reducing the potential for adverse affects. Examples of monoclonal antibodies exhibiting this property are Bapineuzumab and Ponezumab (PF-04360365) in Alzheimer's Phase 3 and Phase 2 clinical trials, respectively (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00574132?term=bapineuzumab&rank=1; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=PF-04360365).
Patents have been granted in Europe, Japan, China and elsewhere, and are pending in the United States. Intellect has granted royalty-bearing licenses to its ANTISENILIN® patent estate to several top tier global pharmaceutical companies developing monoclonal antibodies for Alzheimer's disease. For further information, see the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Forms 8-K filed on:
May 1, 2009
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337905/000114420409023426/v147731_8k.htm
January 8, 2009
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337905/000114420409000980/0001144204-09-000980-index.htm
October 14, 2008
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337905/000114420408057464/0001144204-08-057464-index.htm
May 19, 2008
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337905/000114420408030722/v115138_8k.htm
Safe Harbor Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this release and oral statements made by representatives of Intellect relating to matters that are not historical facts (including without limitation those regarding future performance or financial results, the timing or potential outcomes of research collaborations or clinical trials, any market that might develop for any of Intellect's product candidates and the sufficiency of Intellect's cash and other capital resources) are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the likelihood that actual performance or results could materially differ, that future research will prove successful, the likelihood that any product in the research pipeline will receive regulatory approval in the United States or abroad, or Intellect's ability to fund such efforts with or without partners. Intellect undertakes no obligation to update any of these statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date hereof. Accordingly any forward-looking statements should be read in conjunction with the additional risks and uncertainties detailed in Intellect's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Intellect's Annual Report on Form 10-K, (file no. 333-128226) filed on October 13, 2009, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2010, filed on May 17, 2010.