Tasly
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Tianjin, China) and ProteoTech, Inc. (Kirkland,
WA, USA) today announced an agreement to co-develop ProteoTech’s novel small
molecule therapeutic, Exebryl-1(R), for the treatment of mild-to-moderate
Alzheimer’s disease. Exebryl-1(R) has been shown to inhibit beta-amyloid
protein aggregate formation in brain, as well as disaggregate amyloid plaques
that are already present. The drug has also shown specificity against tau
protein aggregates and may be the first therapeutic targeting beta-amyloid and
tau protein associated with this disease.
The
collaboration will focus on moving the clinical development of this drug though
the regulatory process in China
and the US.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but will include an upfront payment,
development costs and research funding to ProteoTech according to Manuel
Menendez, Managing Partner of Nobel Pacific, who acted as an advisor to both
companies. Tasly will gain rights for Exebryl-1(R) for China and ProteoTech will retain rights for the United States
and the rest of the world.
“We are
very happy with this opportunity to work with the team at ProteoTech and we
feel that Exebryl-1(R) will become a very important medication in China against
the growing epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease” stated Dr. Henry Sun, Vice
President of Tasly Group and President of Tasly Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ProteoTech CEO,
Steve Runnels said “The opportunity for this collaboration with a major
international pharmaceutical company is very exciting for us. We are very fortunate
to have Tasly as a partner and their experience in drug development, especially
in China,
provides an opportunity to accelerate Exebryl-1(R) through clinical
development. We look forward to a successful Exebryl-1(R) collaboration
with Tasly and the potential development of other promising technologies in our
pipeline as well.”
