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CHDI selects ENKAM’s compounds for preclinical testing in Huntington’s disease transgenic model
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Copenhagen, Denmark, December 4 2006 - CHDI, Inc. (CHDI), a non-profit organisation, together with ENKAM Pharmaceuticals A/S, the Copenhagen-based biotechnology company focused on cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, are pleased to announce that they have entered into a collaboration to test two of ENKAM’s preclinical compounds in the area of Huntington’s disease (HD). CHDI will provide pre-clinical development resources.
Commenting on the announcement, Robert Pacifici, Chief Scientific Officer of CHDI, said: “ENKAM’s approach to developing trophic factor mimetics may be very useful in developing therapies for HD. We look forward to joining forces with ENKAM to explore the potential utility of their candidate molecules in relevant animal models of HD”.
CHDI will pay for the preclinical testing of two of ENKAMs compounds, both of which target the FGF-receptor. One of the compounds is derived from the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM) and the other is derived from the fibroblast growth factor (FGF). ENKAM will retain all rights to the products.
The scientific foundation of ENKAM is built upon decades of research in cell adhesion, growth and differentiation leading to our understanding of the regulatory role of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) over associated growth factor receptors. CAMs are known to play a significant role in the development of tissues and organs. In recent years, increasing evidence of a direct regulatory role of CAMs over growth factors has been published. This valuable but complex group of targets has been made accessible by dissecting the three-dimensional structure of complex interaction between receptors and their ligands into sub-binding sites and targeting those sub-binding sites with peptides.
Professor Elisabeth Bock, a co-founder of ENKAM, said:“We are delighted that CHDI and High Q have selected our compounds for development. This is a huge endorsement of our science and our capability to develop ENKAM’s compounds into therapies for severe neurodegenerative disorders, such as Huntington’s disease.”
Adding to this comment, Morten Albrechtsen MD, Chief Executive and a co-founder of ENKAM Pharmaceuticals, said:“We are delighted to work together with CHDI and High Q to advance therapies for treatment of Huntington’s disease.”
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About CHDI, Inc. and High Q Foundation
CHDI Inc. and the High Q Foundation, Inc. (High Q) are non-profit organizations that share the mission of bringing together academia, industry, governmental agencies, and other funding organizations in the search for Huntington disease (HD) treatments.
CHDI, Inc. is pursuing a biotech approach to rapidly discover and develop drugs that prevent or slow HD. Through collaborations with industrial and academic partners, CHDI, Inc., participates in all aspects of drug discovery and development from high throughput screening to preclinical development.
High Q supports HD research aimed at target identification and validation, the development and use of animal models, drug delivery, and the search for markers of disease progression.
About Huntington’s disease (HD)
HD is a familial disease, passed from parent to child through a mutation in a gene. Each child of an HD parent has a 50-50 chance of inheriting the HD gene which causes programmed degeneration of brain cells and results in emotional disturbance, loss of intellectual faculties and uncontrolled movements. Most people with HD develop the symptoms at midlife but in some people onset occurs in infancy or old age. The average survival time after onset is approximately fifteen to twenty years. It is estimated that about one in every 10,000 persons has the HD gene. At this time, there is no way to stop or reverse the course of HD.