NEW YORK, May 16, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (OTCBB:ILNS), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease and other serious neurodegenerative conditions, with an internal diversified pipeline and licenses with major pharmaceutical companies covering products in late-stage clinical trials, announced today it has appointed Dr. Michael Grundman MD, MPH, to its Clinical Advisory Board. Dr. Grundman is President and CEO at Global R&D Partners, LLC, a consulting firm that works closely with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop novel agents for the diagnosis and treatment of serious and life threatening diseases. Dr. Grundman currently is an Adjunct Professor of Neurosciences at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Previously he served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy Research & Development, LLC and as Vice President of Clinical Development at Elan Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Daniel Chain, Chairman & CEO of Intellect commented: "We are privileged and delighted that Dr. Grundman agreed to join Intellect's Clinical Advisory Board after working with us as a consultant for several months. Dr. Grundman brings important hands-on experience in pharmaceutical drug development, backed by a strong science and medical background in clinical neurology. Dr. Grundman has already been helpful to the Company with respect to the interpretation of safety, pharmacokinetic and cognition data that we collected during the first clinical trials of OX1.We expect him to play an important role as we undertake planned future development of our various programs to address Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative conditions."
Dr. Grundman commented: "I am honored to be part of Intellect's esteemed Clinical Advisory Board and look forward to helping Dr. Chain and his team at Intellect meet the Company's drug development and commercialization objectives. I am impressed by the strong science at Intellect and believe that important new drugs potentially could emerge from its pipeline."
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 serious neurodegenerative disorders. The Company's most advanced internally developed product is OX1, which has been tested in Phase 1 clinical trials and has broad potential to treat diseases in which tissues, especially nervous tissue, are damaged by oxidative stress. The Company plans to conduct clinical proof of concept patient trials for OX1 in Friedreich's Ataxia, a rare inherited disease that brings about free-radical mediated progressive damage to the nervous system as well as for other diseases. The company recently filed an Orphan Drug Application for OX1 for the treatment of Friedreich's Ataxia. About six thousand people in the United States are estimated to suffer from the disease. Orphan Drug designation would provide a seven-year term of market exclusivity for OX1 if ultimately approved by the FDA pending successful outcome of planned clinical trials and would enable the Company to take advantage of various financial and regulatory benefits, including government grants for conducting clinical trials, waiver of FDA user fees and certain tax credits. The Company anticipates filing for Orphan Drug designation in Europe as well.
The Company's ANTISENILIN® monoclonal antibody technology platform for treatment of Alzheimer's disease, invented fourteen years ago by Dr. Chain, targets beta amyloid, a protein widely believed to be an important contributor to the cognitive deficits seen in Alzheimer's disease. Importantly, ANTISENILIN® antibodies bind the major classes of beta amyloid, including soluble and plaque-bound forms, but avoid binding to the amyloid precursor protein from which beta amyloid is produced in the body. It is expected that this specificity may reduce the potential for adverse effects. Patents have been granted in Europe, Japan and several other countries with corresponding patent applications pending in the United States. The Company is developing IN-N01, a next generation humanized monoclonal and Recall-Vax, a highly specific vaccine technology that has the potential to delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease in people who are at risk either by genetic predisposition or age.
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, 2010, and information contained in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three month period ended September 30, 2010, filed on November 18, 2010.