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Ispronicline Joins Effort to Find Alzheimer’s Cure
July 6, 2005 – There is a new kid on the block in
the mad race to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Ispronicline is now enrolling participants for a Phase II study after
clinical studies in which elderly people taking Ispronicline performed
better on memory and attention measures than those taking a placebo.
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This improved performance continued well beyond the
time that Ispronicline was eliminated from the body, reported Geoffry C.
Dunbar, M.D., and vice president of Targacept, Inc., the
biopharmaceutical company making the drug.
Ispronicline now joins Alzhemed and Flurizan, both
aleady in Phase III studies, in the battle for the gigantic market.
Targacept made their presentation on Ispronicline
at the 8th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry in Vienna, Austria on
July 2, 2005.
Dr. Dunbar's presentation included results from the
placebo-controlled clinical studies in which elderly subjects dosed with
80mg or 50mg of Ispronicline performed better on certain memory and
attention measures than elderly subjects dosed with placebo.
"This separation between kinetic and dynamic
effects is of great interest to us, and the fact that these positive
effects were associated with low dose levels is very encouraging for
Ispronicline's future development for treating conditions of cognitive
impairment in the elderly," said Dr. Dunbar.
Targacept also reported that it has completed more
than 50% of its target enrollment of 180 elderly subjects for its
ongoing Phase 2 efficacy trial of Ispronicline in age associated memory
impairment (AAMI).
This clinical trial is designed as a double-blind,
randomized comparison of two doses of Ispronicline to placebo over a
16-week treatment period. The trial is being conducted at 16 clinical
sites in the United States.
Targacept is also preparing for a Phase 2 study of
Ispronicline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD).
The AD study is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2006. In six
completed clinical trials with a total of 200 subjects, Ispronicline has
been well tolerated and has demonstrated cognitive- enhancing effects.
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"We were delighted to present clinical data that validate the cognitive-
enhancing potential of Ispronicline," said J. Donald deBethizy,
Targacept's President and Chief Executive Officer.
"We are also very pleased with the performance and
enthusiasm of the investigational sites for our ongoing Phase 2 AAMI
trial. We are very focused on the continued development of Ispronicline
and its potential for treating, and slowing the progression of,
neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. We recognize the
significant need for new treatment options in this area of major unmet
medical need," added deBethizy
The company says Ispronicline was developed using
Targacept's proprietary rational drug design technology known as Pentad
to target specific neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (NNRs).
NNRs have been validated as key regulators of central nervous system
functions such as attention, vigilance, memory and mood.
About Targacept
Targacept is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in
the design, discovery and development of a new class of drugs to treat
multiple diseases and disorders of the central nervous system by
selectively targeting neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or
NNRs. NNRs are found on nerve cells throughout the nervous system and
serve as key regulators of nervous system activity. Targacept's product
candidates are designed to selectively target specific NNR subtypes to
promote therapeutic effects and limit adverse side effects. Targacept
has a marketed product, Inversine(R) (mecamylamine hydrochloride),
product candidates in clinical development for cognitive impairment,
including Alzheimer's disease and age associated memory impairment, pain
and depression, and multiple ongoing preclinical programs.
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