TauRx Therapeutics Initiates Two Phase III Trials For Alzheimer’s Drug

Singapore-based biotech company TauRx Therapeutics Ltd announced today the initiation of two global Phase III clinical trials for its Alzheimer’s disease drug.

AsianScientist (Oct. 31, 2012) – Singapore-based biotech company TauRx Therapeutics Ltd announced today the initiation of two global Phase III clinical trials in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

The announcement was made at a press conference at the 5th Clinical Trials Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

The study drug, LMTX™, is a second‐generation Tau Aggregation Inhibitor (TAI) that targets the Tau tangles and their precursors, dissolving them in order to halt their harmful effects on memory.

LMTX™ also works on the early stage Tau aggregates (called ‘oligomers’) which are precursors to fully‐formed tangles and are thought to be particularly toxic.7

The studies, which have already started enrolling in the U.S., aim to confirm the disease‐modifying effects seen in the Phase II studies in mild to moderate patients over an 18‐month time frame.

The first Phase III study will involve 833 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease over 12 months. The second study will include 500 people with mild Alzheimer’s disease over 18 months.

“These Phase III studies are bringing us closer to finding an effective treatment that can actually arrest the progression of the disease,” said Professor Claude Wischik, Chairman of TauRx and Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at the University of Aberdeen.

“We are building on over thirty years of research, and the encouraging results from our previous Phase II clinical trial in Alzheimer’s disease support an approach which targets the abnormal Tau aggregates in the brain.”

Countries in which the Phase III clinical trials will be conducted include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, U.S., and U.K.

Patients and caregivers are invited to sign up for study updates at www.AlzheimersStudies.com, as the clinical trials are initiated in the countries selected.

TauRx Therapeutics Ltd was established in Singapore in 2002 with the aim of developing new treatments and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases. While Taurx corporate headquarters are in Singapore, its primary research facilities are in Aberdeen, Scotland.

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Source: TauRx Therapeutics.
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