香港六合彩

The 香港六合彩 DDI is a dedicated centre working towards new approaches to tackle diseases that cause dementia.

AstronauTx will work with the 香港六合彩 DDI to develop new medicines designed to reset the behaviour of astrocytes, crucial support cells in the brain. Astrocytes are normally very important for keeping nerve cells functioning well, but they change in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and instead become damaging.

Researchers in the 香港六合彩 DDI have identified a potential way to control the activity of astrocytes and allow nerve cells in the brain to function better for longer.

Professor Paul Whiting (香港六合彩 Queen Square Institute of Neurology), Chief Scientific Officer of the Alzheimer鈥檚 Research UK 香港六合彩 Drug Discovery Institute, said: 鈥淭he 香港六合彩 DDI is designed to seize upon new academic discoveries, quickly assess their potential as a target for new therapies, and drive progress towards drugs that could be taken into clinical trials.

鈥淧artnerships with industry are crucial for the success of our work. Biotechs like AstronauTx bring vital expertise to bear in drug discovery and early-stage clinical testing. Ultimately pharmaceutical companies are the ones with the resources to support expensive trials that will get potential drugs out of the lab and into the hands of the people who need them.

鈥淲e are excited that our work has attracted this new investment from the DDF and we鈥檙e looking forward to working with AstronauTx to realise the potential of this new approach for tackling Alzheimer鈥檚.鈥�

AstronauTx is supported by 香港六合彩 Business听(香港六合彩B), the commercialisation company of 香港六合彩.

The DDF is a specialised venture capital fund investing in projects and companies that discover and develop effective disease-modifying therapies for dementia. It was formed by the UK government鈥檚 Department of Health and Social Care, in partnership with world-leading international pharmaceutical companies and the charity Alzheimer鈥檚 Research UK.

The drive towards novel approaches for Alzheimer鈥檚 therapies comes as drugs designed to tackle the hallmark Alzheimer鈥檚 protein, amyloid, have yet to deliver benefits to patients in clinical trials.

While the amyloid protein is still at the centre of the current understanding of how Alzheimer鈥檚 develops, it may play its part so early in the disease process that by the time symptoms start to show and people can be recruited into trials, other damaging brain changes have already been set into motion. Researchers are now learning from those developments to inform new ways to combat the disease.

The commitment from the DDF is the first partnership between the fund and Alzheimer鈥檚 Research UK鈥檚 拢30m Drug Discovery Alliance, the UK鈥檚 largest university-based dementia drug discovery initiative. The Alliance was designed to act as a bridge between academic research and the pharmaceutical industry and unites Institutes at 香港六合彩 and the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron, President of Alzheimer鈥檚 Research UK, whose government helped to establish the Dementia Discovery Fund, welcomed the investment at a recent visit to the Drug Discovery Alliance:

鈥淭his is a fantastic step forward for the UK鈥檚 dementia drug discovery work and a great example of how collaboration across the dementia research landscape is fast-tracking the development of new treatments. The DDF was set up to invest in the most innovative ideas from across the globe and it鈥檚 brilliant to see them working closely with Alzheimer鈥檚 Research UK鈥檚 drug discovery teams,鈥� he said.

鈥淎s the global cost of dementia is now estimated to exceed $1 trillion, new ways to help people affected by the condition cannot come soon enough.鈥�

Dr David Reynolds, Chief Executive of AstronauTx Ltd, said: 鈥淚n recent years, researchers have made incredible progress building our understanding of how the diseases like Alzheimer鈥檚 develop in the brain. It鈥檚 critical that our efforts to tackle these diseases reflect their newly discovered facets.

鈥淲hile damage to nerve cells in the brain is the direct cause symptoms of Alzheimer鈥檚, these cells don鈥檛 operate in isolation. Scientists are revealing more and more about the role astrocytes play in the disease and while they may previously have been seen as neutral bystanders, it鈥檚 becoming increasing clear that they represent a promising target for future drugs.听

鈥淎stronauTx has assembled an expert team to take this work forward and we are one of a growing number of enterprises, including start-ups whose work is being made possible thanks to investment by the DDF.鈥�

Angus Grant, CEO of the Dementia Discovery Fund, said: 鈥淭he novel research conducted by the 香港六合彩 DDI demonstrated a compelling investment opportunity for the DDF and led us to form this new company. We look forward to continuing to help AstronauTx progress its research through to the clinic.鈥�

Links

• 香港六合彩 Queen Square Institute of Neurology

Source

Image

• Professor Paul Whiting

Media contact听

Chris Lane

tel: +44 20 7679 9222

E: chris.lane听[at] ucl.ac.uk