• Lead Drug FGL Found To Prevent Impaired Cognition
• R&D Update, Publication & Conference Presentation
• CHDI selects ENKAM’s compounds for preclinical tes
• Presentation at BIO-Europe
• Attendance at Conferences
• Participation at Conference
• The ENKAM approach shows potential in treatment of
• Discovery of Novel Compound Classes
• Positive Preclinical Data - Traumatic Brain Injury
• Appointment of Executive Chairman
• New Promising Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
• EU 6FP Grants EUR9.7 million to European Research
• Glossary

EU 6FP Grants EUR9.7 million to European Research in Alzheimer’s Disease

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Copenhagen, Denmark, June 16, 2004 – ENKAM Pharmaceuticals A/S, which is discovering and developing new peptide molecules for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, announces a EUR9.7 million grant from the EU’s Sixth Framework program. The grant is aimed at research being conducted by ENKAM and the University of Copenhagen to develop applications of the neural adhesion molecule, NCAM, which is involved in brain development and orchestrates memory and learning.

When they are released, the funds will be used to establish the PROMEMORIA project, a consortium of 18 research groups, including ENKAM Pharmaceuticals, from 9 EU countries, Switzerland and Israel. Elisabeth Bock, MD, Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Copenhagen and ENKAM’s co-founder, will head the project. She believes that PROMEMORIA will play an important role in improving understanding of memory and the learning process, and lead to the development of drugs for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

“The molecule, NCAM, occurs in the nerve cells. It is an incredibly complex molecule, which acts as a control board for functions such as the memory and learning ability. NCAM and its functions represent a new angle to the development of new drugs for treating diseases such as depression, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease”, Professor Bock said. “NCAM has a role in the growth and health of the nerve cells, and communication between them. The exploration of NCAM may therefore lead to types of treatment which may bring CNS diseases to a standstill or cure them.”

Benefits for ENKAM’s Alzheimer’s disease project

While ENKAM Pharmaceuticals will receive a proportion of the funds directly, the real value of the grant for the company will come from research carried out by PROMEMORIA as a whole, which will substantiate the science on which the company is based, and broaden understanding in the field.

“ENKAM Pharmaceuticals has identified approximately 50 peptide families derived from NCAM. PROMEMORIA will initially use these peptides to improve its understanding of NCAM’s role in memory. This will add significant knowledge about these exciting peptides and the way new peptides can be identified,” ENKAM’s Chief Executive Officer, Morten Albrechtsen, MD, said.

“The optimal Alzheimer’s disease drug has to fulfil three criteria,” Dr Albrechtsen explained. “First, it has to be able to remove the ‘bad protein’, beta-amyloid, which deposits as plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers. Secondly, the drug has to be able to re-establish the functions of, and mutual communication between, neuronal cells. Thirdly, it has to improve the memory and learning abilities. Our molecule satisfies all three criteria when tested in a model of Alzheimer’s disease in rats.”