VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Mar 03, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX News Network) --
Allon Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: NPC) today announced that clinical trial results confirming the positive pharmacokinetic characteristics of the Company's lead neuroprotective drug candidate, davunetide, will be presented at the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics annual meeting in Dallas, Texas on Friday, March 4. The data demonstrate that intranasal administration of davunetide yields the pharmacokinetic characteristics and brain concentrations apparently necessary to show clinical efficacy.
Bruce Morimoto, Allon's Vice President of Drug Development, said the pharmacokinetic data are supportive of the Company's ongoing pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rapidly-progressing and fatal degenerative brain disease.
"These data demonstrate that administration of davunetide to healthy individuals and to Alzheimer's disease patients is available in the circulation, taken up into the brain and detectable in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in sufficient concentrations predicted to show efficacy," said Morimoto.
"The non-compartmental pharmacokinetic model of davunetide in plasma and CSF is pertinent to dose selection for our pivotal Phase 2/3 pivotal trial in PSP patients, and relevant to our second generation davunetide product program targeting Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and other dementias," said Morimoto.
The American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics is the largest scientific and professional organization serving the discipline of clinical pharmacology. The annual meeting is attended by more than 1,000 scientists, pharmacists, physicians, research coordinators, students and trainees.
About davunetide
Allon is currently enrolling patients in a pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating davunetide as a potential treatment for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rapidly-progressing and fatal movement disorder with dementia which is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease. Allon reached agreement on a Special Protocol Assessment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as Orphan Drug and Fast Track Status in the U.S. Similarly, Allon has Orphan Status for davunetide in the EU.
Davunetide is derived from a naturally occurring neuroprotective brain protein known as activity dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP). Allon's human clinical and pre-clinical data suggest that davunetide works on microtubules, structures in the brain critical to communication between cells, and central to the tau pathway. Davunetide has shown statistically significant impacts on memory, activities of daily living, and a biomarker of brain cell function and integrity. Allon has extensive intellectual property protecting davunetide.
About Allon's neuroprotective platforms
Allon's two neuroprotective technology platforms are based on two naturally occurring proteins produced by the brain in response to a range of insults. The platforms are activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) and activity-dependent neurotrophic factor (ADNF).
Because the two platforms are based on different proteins, the drugs from each are