DURHAM, N.C., March 10, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Patrick S. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Curaxis Pharmaceutical Corp. (OTCQB:CURX) (Frankfurt: 8CX), commented today on an article by Duff Wilson published in the New York Times on March 6, 2011. According to Mr. Smith, the article titled "Drug Firms Face Billions in Losses in '11 as Patents End," which discusses the rationale for investing in Big Pharma while patents are expiring and drug pipelines are virtually empty, can be viewed as positive news for Curaxis.
"Mr. Wilson's article mentions the recent failures of Alzheimer's drugs in FDA trials sponsored by major pharmaceutical companies, which were largely based on beta amyloid that have shown no statistical significance in the trials, as well as having serious side effects on patients. Curaxis is taking a different approach to treating Alzheimer's with a form of leuprolide proven to be extremely safe by reducing the overproduction of a leutenizing hormone that is commonly found in older people and scientific research has shown to be a contributing factor to Alzheimer's," said Mr. Smith
Curaxis' lead hormone drug candidate Memryte has shown statistical results which appear equal to, if not better, than those reported of any Alzheimer's drug in FDA trials according to some specialists in the field. Memryte, which targets the primary pathological events of Alzheimer's disease, has also shown to stabilize Alzheimer's in patients who have a moderate to advanced phase of the disease.
Curaxis plans to enter Phase IIb trials to verify these findings and provide additional support that Memryte works to stabilize Alzheimer's in combination with certain drugs known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors ("AChEIs"), of which Aricept is the most widely prescribed and going off patent this year. Curaxis has on file a patent pending for use of Memryte with AChEIs.
"Our clinical work has shown a synergistic effect with Aricept, and we believe the combination provides a better outcome when Memryte stops the aberrant cell cycling, allowing Aricept to work more effectively for a longer duration," added Mr. Smith. "We anticipate securing patents to provide a combination treatment at a very competitive price. Our findings are encouraging due to the safety of both drugs for many patient years."
About Curaxis
Curaxis is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company with a hormone drug product candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and multiple cancers. Curaxis' therapeutic platform is based on the hypothesis that many diseases of aging may be caused by age-related changes in the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. The HPG axis is a hormonal endocrine feedback loop that controls development, reproduction and aging in animals. This drug development platform is built on the premise that hormones associated with this feedback loop are beneficial early in life, when they promote growth and development, but are harmful later in life when the mechanism for feedback is compromised, thereby leading to disease processes, including pathologies associated with Alzheimer's disease and various cancers.
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