NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (OTCBB:ILNS), a biopharmaceutical company with an internal preclinical and clinical-stage pipeline and licenses with major pharmaceutical companies covering products in late-stage clinical trials, announced that it has engaged Dr. Giora Feuerstein as a key consultant to advise the Company regarding its technology programs and pipeline. Until earlier this year, Dr. Feuerstein was Assistant Vice President & Head, Discovery Translational Medicine at Pfizer, having previously held these positions at Wyeth Research. Dr. Feuerstein resigned his position at Pfizer to focus on applying his expertise to assist smaller biopharmaceutical companies in meeting their drug development objectives via effective translational medicine strategies.
Dr. Daniel Chain, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Intellect, commented: "We are privileged and absolutely delighted that Dr. Feuerstein has taken an active interest in Intellect Neurosciences. Dr. Feuerstein's breadth and scope of experience in guiding biopharmaceutical research and translational medicine is simply unparalleled in the industry. Dr. Feuerstein is widely credited in relation to the extraordinary cardiovascular and neuroscience pipeline at Wyeth that drove the acquisition by Pfizer last year. His agreement to provide consulting services to Intellect brings a phenomenal set of skills to help the Company in its endeavors to develop innovative and safe disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other serious conditions."
Dr. Feuerstein commented: "I am pleased to be able to contribute my knowledge and expertise to help Intellect Neurosciences, which has an exciting pipeline and abundance of innovative ideas to develop new biopharmaceutical products. Dr. Chain impressed me by his critical, objective and balanced scientific assessments that I personally appreciate and like. I am confident that, under this type of leadership, the Company will meet its important objectives focused on the development of innovative drugs that will provide meaningful medical benefits via disease-modifying mechanisms along with maximum safety."
About Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is characterized by progressive loss of memory and cognition, ultimately leading to complete debilitation and death. A hallmark feature of Alzheimer's pathology is the presence of insoluble protein deposits, known as amyloid beta, on the surface of nerve cells, which results from the accumulation of soluble neurotoxic amyloid beta in the brain. The effects of the disease are devastating to patients as well as their caregivers, with significant associated health care costs. It is estimated that there are more than five million Americans and about 30 million people worldwide suffering from Alzheimer's disease, with the number expected to increase dramatically as the global population ages. Currently-marketed drugs transiently affect some symptoms of the disease, but there are no drugs on the market today that slow or arrest the progression of the disease. These symptomatic drugs are projected to generate more than U.S. $6 billion in sales this year, indicating both the size of the market and the demand for effective treatment beyond symptomatic improvements.
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 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
For additional information, please visit http://www.intellectns.com, or contact Elliot Maza, JD, CPA, President & Chief Financial Officer, Intellect Neurosciences, Inc., 45 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10011, USA. Tel: 212-448-9300 or 201-259-5706.
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.