NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (OTCBB:ILNS), a biopharmaceutical company with an internal preclinical and clinical-stage pipeline and licenses with major pharmaceutical companies covering products in late-stage clinical trials, announced today that its Chairman & CEO, Dr. Daniel Chain, was granted a patent by the European Patent and Trademark Office related to the use of insulin sensitizers for the prevention and treatment of memory loss and dementia. Insulin sensitizer drugs include Rosiglitazone and Pioglitazone, which have been approved for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus. Dr. Chain is co-inventor of the patent with Professor Mike Cawthorne, Director of Metabolic Research, Clore Laboratory at The University of Buckingham (www.buckingham.ac.uk/clore) and leader of the research team that originally discovered Rosiglitazone as a diabetes treatment. Dr. Chain applied for this patent prior to founding Intellect in 2005. Intellect Neurosciences holds an option to acquire the patent from its current owners.
This patent is the second European patent awarded to Dr. Chain. Previously, he was granted a patent for Intellect's ANTISENILIN® platform for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The ANTISENILIN® platform is the underlying technology of the Company's preclinical IN-N01 humanized monoclonal antibody, and of Ponezumab, which is in Phase 2 clinical trials, and Bapineuzumab, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials, both of which are being developed by global pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Chain commented, "Dr. Cawthorne and I are pleased by the grant of a new patent in Europe relating to this novel approach. We predicted that some of the drugs now used in the treatment of diabetes may also help in the treatment and prevention of AD and other forms of memory loss. We are hopeful that drugs that improve glucose utilization in the brain could be used to treat memory loss in presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease or perhaps treat age-related memory loss." Dr. Chain continued: "Glucose is used by cells in the brain to make the energy needed for the cells to live, but glucose utilization may be impaired in the brains of older people and those suffering from senile dementia or other forms of memory loss. There is growing evidence that defective brain glucose utilization results from resistance to the action of insulin. Insulin sensitizer drugs such as Rosiglitazone and Pioglitazone help brain cells properly use glucose. This approach has generated considerable interest in the pharmaceutical industry, as there is now compelling evidence from clinical trials supporting this theory."
About Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is characterized by progressive loss of memory and cognition, ultimately leading to complete debilitation and death. A hallmark feature of Alzheimer's pathology is the presence of insoluble protein deposits, known as amyloid beta, on the surface of nerve cells, which results from the accumulation of soluble neurotoxic amyloid beta in the brain. The effects of the disease are devastating to patients as well as their caregivers, with significant associated health care costs. It is estimated that there are more than five million Americans and about 30 million people worldwide suffering from Alzheimer's disease, with the number expected to increase dramatically as the global population ages. Currently marketed drugs transiently affect some symptoms of the disease, but there are no drugs on the market today that slow or arrest the progression of the disease. These symptomatic drugs are projected to generate more than US$6 billion in sales this year, indicating both the size of the market and the demand for effective treatment beyond symptomatic improvements.
About Intellect Neurosciences, Inc.
Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. is a Manhattan-based biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders. The Company's drug product pipeline includes OX1, which has been tested in Phase 1 clinical trials; IN-N01, a humanized monoclonal antibody designed to promote the clearance of soluble amyloid beta; and RECALL-VAX, a vaccine technology that has the potential to delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease in people who are at risk.
The Company has significant intellectual property assets, which include several patent families underlying the Company's internal programs, and a pivotal patent estate regarding passive AD immunotherapy.
The Company's ANTISENILIN® patent estate claims monoclonal antibodies that bind either end of amyloid beta but do not interact with the amyloid precursor protein from which amyloid beta is produced in the body. This high degree of specificity is an important safety feature reducing the potential for adverse effects. Examples of monoclonal antibodies exhibiting this property are Bapineuzumab and Ponezumab in Alzheimer's Phase 3 and Phase 2 clinical trials, respectively (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00574132?term=bapineuzumab&rank=1; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=PF-04360365).
Patents have been granted in Europe, Japan, China and elsewhere, and are pending in the United States. Intellect has granted royalty-bearing licenses to its ANTISENILIN® patent estate to several top tier global pharmaceutical companies developing monoclonal antibodies for Alzheimer's disease. For further information, see the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Forms 8-K filed on:
May 1, 2009
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337905/000114420409023426/v147731_8k.htm
January 8, 2009
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337905/000114420409000980/0001144204-09-000980-index.htm
October 14, 2008
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337905/000114420408057464/0001144204-08-057464-index.htm
May 19, 2008
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337905/000114420408030722/v115138_8k.htm
For additional information, please visit http://www.intellectns.com
Safe Harbor Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this release and oral statements made by representatives of Intellect relating to matters that are not historical facts (including without limitation those regarding future performance or financial results, the timing or potential outcomes of research collaborations or clinical trials, any market that might develop for any of Intellect's product candidates and the sufficiency of Intellect's cash and other capital resources) are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the likelihood that actual performance or results could materially differ, that future research will prove successful, the likelihood that any product in the research pipeline will receive regulatory approval in the United States or abroad, or Intellect's ability to fund such efforts with or without partners. Intellect undertakes no obligation to update any of these statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date hereof. Accordingly, any forward-looking statements should be read in conjunction with the additional risks and uncertainties detailed in Intellect's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Intellect's Annual Report on Form 10-K, (file no. 333-128226) filed on October 13, 2009, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2010, filed on May 17, 2010.