TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. (TSX: PMN) (OTCQB: ARFXF), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of antibody therapeutics targeting toxic oligomers implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, issued today a Chairman’s memorandum, commenting on highlights of the recent 2021 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) with relevance to ProMIS and summarizing the ProMIS poster/oral presentation contributions to the meeting.
“We are in a new era in the fight against Alzheimer’s, ALS, and other neurodegenerative diseases,” stated Eugene Williams, Executive Chairman of ProMIS Neurosciences. “ProMIS and many others have predicted this development and we believe that the Alzheimer’s community will look back on 2021 as a turning point, just as 2010 was a turning point in immuno-oncology and the fight against cancer. There were many signs of that recognition at the 2021 AAIC meeting.”
Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
The Chairman’s memorandum highlights the recent FDA accelerated approval of Biogen’s Aduhelm (aducanumab) which now provides a regulatory path to approval in AD, opening the door to development of next generation therapies selectively targeting the pathogenic forms of amyloid-beta.
To date, therapies such as Aduhelm, Eisai’s BAN2401 (lecanumab) and Lilly’s donanemab that target aggregated amyloid-beta (neurotoxic oligomers and plaque) have all shown clinical benefit in AD; therapies that target monomer or are non-selective, targeting all forms of amyloid-beta, have failed in every clinical trial. Clinical data suggest that oligomer targeting is actually the cause of benefit (not plaque).
ProMIS’ PMN310 is well positioned to be the best of the next generation therapies in Alzheimer’s, with extremely high selectivity for the toxic oligomer, effector function with the potential for efficacy at a low dose, and the possibility of both intravenous and subcutaneous delivery.
ProMIS presentations at AAIC.
ProMIS’ unique platform uses computational approaches to predict the particular shape (or conformation) of misfolded proteins, identifying conformational epitopes exposed only on neurotoxic misfolded proteins. In our poster presentation at AAIC (link to poster), we identified a novel scientific insight into disease pathogenesis, suggesting that in addition to selectively binding and neutralizing those neurotoxic proteins, ProMIS antibodies may slow the rate of propagation or spread of toxicity.
ProMIS’ technology platform has created a large and growing portfolio of highly selective, high affinity antibodies against multiple misfolded proteins involved in neurodegenerative disease, exemplified by our TDP-43 antibodies and intrabodies, presented by CSO Neil Cashman at AAIC (link to presentation). Intrabody data provide initial proof of concept for a gene therapy, vectorized antibody therapeutic, suggesting potential safety and efficacy for that approach in ALS.
To access the Chairman’s Update, please visit www.promisneurosciences.com or visit https://promisneurosciences.com/news/chairmans-update-august-4-2021/
About ProMIS Neurosciences
ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. is a development stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing antibody therapeutics selectively targeting toxic oligomers implicated in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). The Company’s proprietary target discovery platform is based on the use of two complementary thermodynamic, computational discovery engines – ProMIS and Collective Coordinates – to predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique precision approach, the Company is developing novel antibody therapeutics for AD, ALS and PD. ProMIS is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ProMIS is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PMN, and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol ARFXF.
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