NeuroSearch scientist receives research award for his work regarding the importance of ion channels for the heart function

Morten Grunnet, Ph.D. and Head of the department for Cardiac Physiology at
NeuroSearch, has received the 2008 research award from Reinholdt W. Jorck and
Wife's Foundation. Stated reasons for the award were in particular: "Morten
Grunnet combines basic and application oriented research in an exemplary
manner, thereby creating new knowledge on the cardiac function and contributing
to better treatments for patients with heart problems, notably arrhythmia, in
collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry." 

In 2002, Morten Grunnet was employed at NeuroSearch, and in 2007 also in
parallel with his job at NeuroSearch employed at the University of Copenhagen
as Denmark's first industry professor - a position established jointly by
NeuroSearch and the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Copenhagen. 

Jørgen Drejer, Executive Vice President and Director of Drug Discovery of
NeuroSearch, comments: 
"We are very pleased about this recognition of our joint initiative with the
University of Copenhagen regarding Denmark's first industrial professorship and
especially of the results hereof. This professorship has boosted NeuroSearch's
drug discovery in the area of cardiac arrhythmias and ion channels. It is
through such joint academic initiatives with universities that NeuroSearch can
establish and maintain world-class research within diseases outside our core
area, being diseases of the central nervous system. We are also very happy for
Morten for the award he has received for his valuable research." 

Morten Grunnet's research focuses on the importance of ion channels for the
cardiac function, and during his career he has published more than 50
scientific articles in his field of research. 

At the Faculty of Health Sciences, Morten Grunnet is working together with 40
other research scientists from the same field in The Danish National Research
Foundation Center for Cardiac Arrhythmia. (Link:
http://www.ugeskriftet.dk/portal/page/portal/LAEGERDK/UGESKRIFT_FOR_LAEGER/TIDLI
GERE_NUMRE/2005/UFL_2005_10/UFL__2005_10_46859). 

The Danish National Research Foundation Center for Cardiac Arrhythmia is headed
by Professor Søren Peter Olesen, who has established NeuroSearch's ion channel
research. Morten Grunnet and other research scientists have used a number of
pharmaceutical compounds from NeuroSearch among others, to illustrate the
function of various ion channels of the heart and how they help maintain a
stable heart rhythm. 

Contact persons:
Jørgen Drejer, EVP, Director of Drug Discovery, telephone: +45 2028 9705
Hanne Leth Hillman VP, Director of IR & Corporate Communications, telephone:
+45 4017 5103 
 
Ion channels and cardiac arrhythmias
Ion channels are signaling proteins in cell membranes, which act as pores for
small ions (salt molecules). Since all ions bear an electrical charge, the
opening of these ion channels lead to an electric current. These ion currents
are responsible for the electrical activity in nerve, muscle and heart cells
and thereby essential for cell function. Imbalance or dysfunction of ion
currents can lead to a number of diseases with treatment potential via
pharmaceutical agents, which can help control the ion channel activity. 
 
FIGURE
Figure 1: Ion Channels - The figure shows the location of ion channels in cell
membranes. Opening and closing of ion channels are responsible for cell
electrical activity and can be controlled with pharmacological agents. 

In the heart, the ion flow controls electrical signals that ensure a proper
contraction and relaxation of muscles, thereby securing an adequate blood
supply to the body's organs. Under normal circumstances, the heart will beat
about 3 billion times in a person's life, on a stable basis and without errors.
A disruption of this stable rhythm is described as arrhythmia (irregular
heartbeat), which can be fatal. NeuroSearch has developed pharmaceutical agents
that can convert arrhythmias to normal heart rhythms in animal models. An
example is shown in the figure below. 

FIGURE 
Figure 2: Cardiac Arrhythmias - The upper curve in the chart shows a guinea pig
heart in arrhythmia, while the lower  curve shows how the addition of a
NeuroSearch compound stops the arrhythmia and leads to a normalisation of the
heart rhythm. 

Diseases related to the cardiovascular system result in more deaths than cancer
and infectious diseases combined, and of these approx. 25% are caused by
arrhythmias. Arrhythmias can arise in atria (atrial fibrillation) or ventricles
(ventricular fibrillation). 

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is generally not life-threatening but can lead to
incidences of chest pain and heart failure. Also the risk of stroke is
significantly increased in AF patients. The incidence of AF is correlated to
age and the prevalence of AF is approximately 8% for individuals more than 80
years. Treatment for AF can be surgical or with drugs. Currently available
drugs for AF treatment may counteract symptoms in some cases but are also
associated with a number of adverse events. The prevalence of ventricular
fibrillation (VF) is rare but the disease results in high mortality. VF is
virtually impossible to treat with available drugs and current standard
treatment is based upon use of electrical defibrillation. Generally, there is a
high medical need for development of new and more efficient drugs with less
adverse events for the treatment of arrhythmias. 
 

NeuroSearch - Company profile
NeuroSearch (NEUR) is a Scandinavian biopharmaceutical company listed on Nasdaq
OMX Copenhagen. The company's core business covers the development of novel
drugs, based on a broad and well-established drug discovery platform focusing
on ion channels and CNS disorders. A substantial share of the activities is
partner financed through a broad alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and
collaborations with, among others, Abbott and Astellas. NeuroSearch's drug
pipeline comprises 14 clinical (Phase I-III) development programmes: ACR16 for
Huntington's disease (Phase III), tesofensine for obesity and in Type 2
diabetes (Phase III in preparation), NS2359 for depression (Phase II) and ADHD
(Phase II) in partnership with GSK, ABT-894 for ADHD (Phase II) and pain (Phase
II) in partnership with Abbott, ACR16 for schizophrenia (Phase I) in
partnership with Astellas, ACR325 for Parkinson's disease (Phase II in
preparation) and bipolar disorder (Phase II in preparation), ABT-107 and
ABT-560 for the treatment of various CNS disorders - both (Phase I) in
collaboration with Abbott, NSD-644 for pain (Phase I) in partnership with GSK,
ACR343 for Parkinson's disease (Phase I) and NSD-788 for anxiety/depression
(Phase I). In addition, NeuroSearch has a broad portfolio of preclinical drug
candidates and holds equity interests in several biotech companies.