RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., March 24, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - T3D Therapeutics, Inc., a Research Triangle Park, NC-based developer of Alzheimer's disease therapies announced today that the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the Company a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 grant for the clinical development of T3D-959, a small molecule nuclear receptor agonist, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. This award provides the company with an estimated $1.8 million in funding over two years. The award will support a Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of T3D-959 in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's patients. In additional support of this trial the Banner Alzheimer's Institute, will carry out neuroimaging analyses under the direction of Dr. Eric Reiman. P. Murali Doraiswamy MD, a Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatrics at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and a noted Alzheimer's expert, will serve as a scientific advisor to the trial.
T3D-959 is a promising new, and potentially disease-modifying therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease. The drug has displayed multi-faceted effectiveness on memory, motor function, inflammation, neuronal cell death, beta amyloid production and tau alteration in pre-clinical studies. Dr. Suzanne de la Monte, Neuropathologist at Rhode Island Hospital and Professor of Pathology at Brown University and a Principal Investigator on the project, said, "The recent failure of multiple drugs in clinical development for Alzheimer's disease (AD) which were all focused on beta amyloid plaques, one of many defects in AD, teaches us that effective drug therapy will likely have to improve multiple defects in the disease, not just one. T3D-959 has this desired profile in diseased animals which we are hopeful will translate to humans".
Commenting on the award, T3D Therapeutics' CEO John Didsbury said, "The National Institute on Aging's support will enable us to test our novel approach to developing an Alzheimer's disease drug therapy that has the potential to slow, stop or reverse the progression of disease. This award is reflective of the goal of the National Plan to address Alzheimer's disease of finding effective therapies to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's by 2025". Company Advisory Board member Dr. Warren Strittmatter, Professor Emeritus, Duke University Medical Center stated, "Despite the large number of clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders during the past decade, there have been no new drugs approved in that period. Therapies with the potential to alter the course of disease are desperately needed. T3D Therapeutics' drug candidate holds great promise to meet that need". Dr. Strittmatter is recognized for his ground-breaking research in Alzheimer's disease. He received the Alzheimer's Association Zenith Award and was recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information as the "Top 20 Scientists" in Neuroscience and Behavior for the decade 1992-2002.
The project described is supported by Grant Number 1R44AG049510 from the National Institute on Aging. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Aging or the National Institutes of Health.
About T3D Therapeutics:
T3D Therapeutics Inc. is a privately-held Research Triangle Park, NC-based company incorporated in 2013. The company is committed to developing disease remedial therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other CNS disorders. T3D-959, its lead product candidate, has successfully concluded Phase 1 clinical trials.
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