Cortisol inhibition could treat Alzheimer's
Biotech company Actinogen Medical (ASX:ACW) has presented its latest results to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2016, held this week in Toronto, Canada. The company used the conference to announce a phase I study involving its lead compound, Xanamem, which works by inhibiting the excess production of cortisol, the stress hormone, in the brain.
“In this study, we saw clear signals of an effect through the substantial inhibition of extra-adrenal regeneration of cortisol,” said study author Professor Craig Ritchie. “We are also excited to see clear evidence of delivery through the blood-brain barrier, which we believe has hampered programs targeting this mechanism in the past.”
Actinogen Medical this year initiated XanADu, a phase II clinical trial investigating Xanamem as a treatment for mild Alzheimer’s. XanADu is being conducted at trial sites in the US, Australia and the UK and expects to enrol patients in 2H16. Professor Ritchie said he is excited to see the compound’s progress into the phase II testing.
The presentation came one day after an abstract from the Australian Imaging, Biomarker & Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL) showed a correlation between elevated cortisol in the blood of a healthy aged population and their subsequent development of Alzheimer’s disease. When individuals also evidenced a broad build-up of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, their chances of developing the disease increased even further.
“The findings from the AIBL study, linking excess cortisol with the development of Alzheimer’s disease, provides further strong validation of our ongoing development of Xanamem,” said Actinogen Medical CEO Dr Bill Ketelbey. “Independent validation is clearly emerging that excess cortisol is a key target for treating the disease and our XanADu trial aims to demonstrate that inhibiting cortisol in the brain with Xanamem is an effective treatment option for patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.”
Actinogen Medical (ASX:ACW) shares were trading 5.33% lower at $0.071 as of around 3 pm on Thursday (28/06/16).
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