Ceregene Awarded SBIR Grant From NIH for Alzheimer's Research
Tuesday October 15, 7:00 am ET
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ceregene, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on gene therapies for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, announced today that it has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant of $99,750 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The funds will be used to test gene delivery using viral vectors delivered to the brain in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Katherine M. Bishop, scientist at Ceregene, is the Principal Investigator for this research.
"We are pleased that the NIH has recognized the quality of Ceregene's research by awarding us this grant. Gene therapy represents a promising new strategy of treating neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease," said Ceregene's president and chief operating officer, Dr. Jeffrey M. Ostrove. "By offering targeted and sustained delivery to specific regions of the brain, gene therapy may dramatically improve the treatment of these diseases."
Ceregene's in vivo gene therapies utilize non-replicating viral vectors as delivery systems to deliver therapeutic genes to the central nervous system, where they express proteins beneficial in treating neurological disease. Nervous system growth factors, such as nerve growth factor (NGF) have demonstrated potential in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. The NIH-funded project is designed to evaluate the efficacy of Ceregene's vector systems in delivering NGF to reduce neuronal degeneration and related cognitive decline in preclinical Alzheimer's disease models. Results from this work will be used to support an investigational new drug (IND) application for a Phase I clinical study of in vivo NGF gene delivery for Alzheimer's disease. A Phase I clinical study of Alzheimer's gene therapy, for which Ceregene has commercial rights, is currently being conducted by one of Ceregene's founders, Professor Mark Tuszynski, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego. While the NIH-sponsored research will focus on in vivo gene therapy, the current Phase I trial is evaluating a form of gene therapy that delivers cells which have been genetically modified ex vivo (outside the body).
Ceregene, Inc. is a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies for neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Ceregene was launched in January 2001 and is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cell Genesys, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEGE - News), which is headquartered in Foster City, CA.
Statements made herein about Ceregene and Cell Genesys, other than statements of historical fact, including statements about the nature of product pipelines are forward-looking statements and are subject to a number of uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made including risks associated with the success of research and development programs, clinical trials, the regulatory approval process for clinical trials, competitive technologies and products, patents, continuation of corporate partnerships and the need for additional financings. For information about these and other risks which may affect Ceregene and Cell Genesys, please see the Cell Genesys Annual Report on Form 10-K dated April 1, 2002 as well as Cell Genesys' reports on Form 10-Q and 8-K and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Source: Ceregene, Inc. |
