Intellect Neurosciences and iNovacia Enter into a Research Service Agreement
2012-10-04
NEW YORK and STOCKHOLM, Oct. 04, 2012 – Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (OTCBB:ILNS), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment of proteinopathies, and iNovacia, a subsidiary to Kancera AB leading experts in compound screening, announced today they entered into a Research Service Agreement to evaluate preclinical compounds for the drug optimization and selection program for Intellect’s antibody drug conjugate, CONJUMAB-A, currently being developed for age related macular degeneration (AMD).
CONJUMAB-A, is anticipated to counter the neurotoxic effects of amyloid beta accumulation and to promote its clearance away from tissues where it causes damage. iNovacia will perform a series of in vitro tests to evaluate compounds so that Intellect can select an optimal drug candidate for further development.
“CONJUMAB-A is a first-in-class drug compound intended to address an important unmet need in AMD, which is the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 55. We believe the compound may show improved efficacy compared to naked amyloid beta antibodies currently in clinical development for AMD. iNovacia has significant expertise in compound screening, including assay development, and we are confident in their ability to conduct these important studies and deliver data in a timely manner,” said Dr. Daniel Chain, chairman and CEO. “Based on recent discussions with global pharmaceutical companies that have expressed interest in the CONJUMAB-A program, we foresee near-term opportunities for potential partnership.”
“We look forward to our inaugural collaboration with the team at Intellect Neurosciences, with the hope that we might continue to work together on future compounds,” said Dr. Thomas Olin, CEO of iNovacia. “We have established a successful track record with several pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers in the United States and in Europe and are anxious to provide value to Intellect as well.”
About CONJUMAB-A
The CONJUMAB platform empowers monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloidogenic proteins with additional neuroprotective properties by combining them chemically with a small molecule such as an antioxidant. CONJUMAB-A, the first compound from this platform, is a monoclonal antibody specific for beta amyloid conjugated to melatonin which is recognized as a potent antioxidant. Beta amyloid, when it accumulates in the retina of the eye, causes damage by oxidative stress. The conjugate is anticipated to increase the therapeutic window for melatonin to protect retinal epithelial cells, promote clearance of beta-amyloid away from sites of damage and avoid potential off-target side-effects. CONJUMAB-A may also have potential applications for diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, traumatic brain injury, and Alzheimer’s disease.
About Intellect Neurosciences
Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. develops innovative approaches aimed at arresting or preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, with a specific focus on proteinopathies. Intellect’s pipeline includes therapeutic vaccines, antibodies and neuroprotective antibody drug conjugates.
For more information, please visit www.intellectns.com.
About iNovacia AB
iNovacia provides high-throughput screening (HTS), fragment-based screening (FBS) and other drug discovery services to translate targets into validated leads for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Enabled by a proprietary 300,000 compound library of highest international standard, unique biophysical tools for characterization of mode-of-action and structure-activity relationships, iNovacia mitigates technical risk, minimizes lead-time and optimizes quality of drug discovery projects. iNovacia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kancera AB (Nasdaq OMX Stockholm First North, KAN).
For more information please visit www.inovacia.se
About Kancera AB (publ)
Kancera is engaged in drug development that takes its start in new treatment concepts and ends with a candidate drug. Kancera is currently developing medicines for the treatment of both leukemia and solid tumors that interferes with survival signaling and nutrient metabolism within the cancer cell. Kancera is also developing stem cell-based cancer models to study the candidate molecules before testing in humans. Kancera operates in Stockholm and employs approximately 20 people. The share is traded on the NASDAQ OMX First North and the number of shareholders is about 1500. Remium AB is Certified Adviser to Kancera.
For more information please visit www.kancera.com
For additional information, please contact:
Thomas Olin, CEO: Tel +46 735 20 40 01
Address to iNovacia AB and Kancera AB
Karolinska Institutet Science Park
Banvaktsvägen 22
SE 171 48 Solna