and the have entered into a collaborative research agreement to develop new small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease in individuals with Down syndrome. 听
is a condition in which a person’s having a third copy of a specific chromosome causes developmental differences in learning, language and memory, and health conditions鈥攊ncluding heart defects at birth. Scientists are studying the cause of Down syndrome; currently it is believed that the third chromosome is created from a random error in cell division within the involved egg or sperm or, more rarely, after fertilization. 听
Beyond health issues at birth, research has revealed that people with Down syndrome have a greatly increased risk of developing a dementia that is either Alzheimer鈥檚 disease or something very close to it. According to the CDC, about 30 percent of people with Down syndrome who are in their 50s have Alzheimer鈥檚 dementia, and about 50 percent of people with Down syndrome in their 60s have Alzheimer鈥檚 dementia.
鈥淭his collaboration plays to the center鈥檚 strength in small molecule central nervous system drug discovery and Prothena鈥檚 deep expertise in protein dysregulation for neurodegenerative diseases,鈥� said , William K. Warren, Jr. Chair in Medicine, University Professor of pharmacology, biochemistry and chemistry and director of the WCNDD. 鈥淚 have long been a fan of the scientific leadership at Prothena and a great admirer of their CNS antibody portfolio. Being able to work together on a small molecule effort is great for patients.鈥�听
If successful, the collaboration will deliver development candidates suitable for the initiation of IND-enabling studies. Other WCNDD scientists involved in the collaboration are , , and .听
鈥淲e are enthusiastic about this collaboration with Vanderbilt and its Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery,鈥� Prothena Chief Scientific Officer Wagner M. Zago said. 鈥淧eople with Down syndrome have a greatly increased risk of developing dementia due to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. The vision of leveraging unique areas of expertise from Prothena and Vanderbilt to focus and create potentially transformative new medicines for this underserved community is unprecedented.鈥�听
Prothena is a late-stage clinical company with expertise in protein dysregulation and a diverse pipeline of novel investigational therapies for neurodegenerative and rare peripheral amyloid diseases.听
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in discussions with Prothena around several areas of potential collaboration in recent years, and we鈥檙e excited that we鈥檙e moving forward with this collaboration,鈥� said Thomas Utley, senior licensing officer at the . 鈥淭he relationship among all areas of Prothena have been a great experience, and we are looking forward to seeing where things lead now.鈥�听
