![By 7mike5000 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.swiny.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Alzheimers_disease-neuron_death.gif)
Progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Neuronal death and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid plaques. By 7mike5000 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Where:
Debevoise & Plimpton, 919 Third Ave. (@55th), Manhattan, 35th Fl.
When:
Tuesday, September 29, 2015, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
9-9:30 – Check in and continental breakfast
9:30-10:30 – Presentations and Q & A
This program is offered free of charge to health and science journalists.
RSVP required: Dennis Tartaglia, dtartaglia@tartagliacommunications.com or Krishna Knabe, kknabe@alzdiscovery.org
The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase dramatically as the Baby Boom generation ages, yet there are currently no drugs to stop it or reverse its course. Innovative approaches to drug discovery and development are desperately needed, as numerous potential treatments have failed in clinical trials or shown minimal effects.
Presenters at the briefing will include two leading physician-scientists:
Frank M. Longo, MD, PhD
Professor and Chairman, Dept. of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Stanford University School of Medicine
Founder and Chairman, PharmatrophiX
Winner, Inaugural (2015) Melvin R. Goodes Prize for Excellence in Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery
Dr. Longo and colleagues have pioneered an approach to identifying and developing drugs that can mimic the function of normal brain proteins (neurotrophins) that protect neurons and are able to target multiple mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s. One of these drugs will soon enter a Phase IIa clinical trial, and others are in the pipeline.
Howard Fillit, MD
Founding Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
Dr. Fillit will discuss the latest developments in other novel approaches to Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment, including: Phase III trial of a repurposed anti-seizure medication (levetiracetam), which was shown in Phase II studies to restore brain function and memory in the pre-dementia phase of Alzheimer’s; a Phase II trial of a derivative of vitamin B1 (benfotiamine) to determine its ability to minimize cognitive decline; and a Phase 1b trial of GC021109, a drug targeting an inflammatory response that may play a role in nerve cell death in neurodegenerative diseases.
Founded in 1998 by co-chairmen Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation is dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s disease. ADDF is the only public charity solely dedicated to funding the development of drugs for Alzheimer’s, employing a venture philanthropy model, funding breakthrough research in academia and the biotech industry. Through the support of its donors, the ADDF has awarded more than $75 million to fund over 450 Alzheimer’s drug discovery programs and clinical trials in 18 countries. To learn more about the ADDF, visit www.alzdiscovery.org.
