Avraham Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has raised $9 million from Yissum Research Development Company (the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Pontifax, Clal Biotechnology Industries (CBI), Professor Marta Weinstock-Rosin and others.
Yissum has announced that, together with the Technion Research and Development Foundation (TRDF), the technology transfer arm of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, it will exclusively license to Avraham the commercial rights of Ladostigil, a novel cholinesterase, brain-selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor and neuroprotective agent for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
The drug has proven to be safe and well tolerated in Phase I/IIa clinical trials. As part of an advanced product development program, Avraham will use the newly invested capital to complete an additional 52-week Phase II proof-of-concept efficacy trial in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Ladostigil is a novel compound that was designed to provide a comprehensive medical treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Like other cholinesterase inhibitors currently on the market, Ladostigil targets symptomatic relief in Alzheimer’s patients. But unlike these drugs, Ladostigil is the first multi-functional drug to reach clinical trials, acting via additional novel mechanisms of action, providing potential to improve the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia such as depression and anxiety. Ladostigil also has the potential to slow progression of clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease for sustained periods of time and to modify the pathology associated with the disease – and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.
The novel drug was envisaged by Prof. Marta Weinstock-Rosin of the Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Prof. Moussa B.H. Youdim of the Eve Top and National Parkinson Foundation Centers of Excellence Rappaport School of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel.
Prof. Weinstock-Rosin’s research at the Hebrew University also led to the discovery and development of Exelon®, a blockbuster drug for treatment of dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease as well as dementia in Parkinson’s disease, which was licensed to and is marketed by Novartis Pharma AG. Prof. Youdim’s research at the Technion led to the discovery and development of Azilect®, a successful new drug for treatment of Parkinson’s disease, which was licensed to and is marketed by Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. David Warshawsky is the CEO of Avraham Pharmaceuticals.
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