Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : BIOTECH & TECHNOLOGY INVESTING *UNDERVALUED*{T/A F/A & V} -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: yosi s who wrote (20)	1/16/1999 3:51:00 PM
From: BRAVEHEART	Respond to of 423

My general statement "I believe those which offer the highest degree of success with this approach are products which are already approved for other indications" ( out of context of course ) was not intended to suggest that there is not a history of novel therapeutics gaining FDA approval. Even if it means hurdling a clinical trial along the way. Certainly this approach can save startup biotechs a lot of money. I certainly agree with your approach in understanding the underlying mechanism if at all possible. You said: "I think that a more efficacious method. is to look at a product. see its mechanisme of action, and have significant proof that it mechanisme of action works as the model supposes. and obsereve closely its safety profile." Clearly I look forward to learning more about PARS if this is the case. I am still awaiting my IR packet. When I get it I'll be by with some questions. In the meantime here is a little background on Memantine and it's potential mechanism of action: A Potentially Safe NMDA Receptor Antagonist Memantine belongs to a class of compounds called NMDA receptor antagonists. Research indicates that these compounds have the potential to prevent the injury and death of neurons associated related to a variety of conditions, including neuropathic pain, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and AIDS dementia. There is considerable medical and commercial interest in developing NMDA receptor antagonists to treat a variety of neurological disorders. In certain medical conditions, injured or malfunctioning neurons release excessive quantities of the amino acid glutamate, a principal excitatory neurotransmitter. When glutamate concentrations surrounding neurons become elevated, NMDA receptors on their membranes are overstimulated. Ion channels controlled by these NMDA receptors remain open for too long, allowing excess calcium to flow into the neurons. These neurons then swell and burst, releasing their stores of glutamate into the surrounding area. This glutamate further stimulates NMDA receptors on neighboring neurons, causing a cascade of neuronal death (excitotoxicity) throughout the area. In the condition of neuropathic pain, abnormal pain signals from peripheral nerves often overexcite neurons in the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system or CNS). When this occurs, injured CNS neurons may generate abnormal pain signals along with injured peripheral nerve cells, resulting in the experience of neuropathic pain. Although the precise mechanism of this process is unknown, excessive activation of NMDA receptors is believed to play an important role. Many NMDA receptor antagonists previously evaluated in human clinical trials prevented this neuronal injury and death by blocking the NMDA receptor channel. However, they blocked the channel for a longer period of time than was safe. While they protected neurons from excitotoxicity, they also prevented normal signal communications and interfered with essential functioning. Such interference resulted in some cases in hallucinations, psychosis or even coma. Unlike these NMDA receptor antagonists, Memantine acts to modulate the function of the NMDA receptor calcium channel, rather than to block it. Memantine stays in the channel long enough to reduce the calcium influx, but not so long that it blocks calcium flow completely, interfering with normal functioning. The psychotic side effects associated with many other calcium channel blockers have only been rarely reported with therapeutic doses of Memantine. NTI®'s collaborator, Merz, has marketed Memantine in Germany since 1989 with the labeling "dementia syndrome." BEST WISHES JEFFREY