Development of a lead candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

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SUMMARY Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease that has become a global epidemic with over 40 million people affected worldwide and a projected 115 million in 2050. It is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. AD has a tremendous impact on health, society and the economy. Approved treatments at best partially ameliorate some symptoms. There is an urgent need for novel, disease-modifying treatments. AD is a complex disease with multiple players that may be targeted for therapeutic intervention. A core pathogenic mechanism is the cellular toxicity of Ab42 peptide oligomers with the cascade of activation and phosphorylation events that follow neuronal oligomeric Ab42 binding and internalization. These result, inter alia, in oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, synaptic dysfunction, abnormal Ca2+ signaling and excitotoxicity. The overarching goal of this project is to develop a drug targeting neurotoxic Ab42 signaling. In this phase 1 component of the project, we will demonstrate the feasibility of optimizing our candidate compound into a therapeutic lead. We will conduct several rounds of structure-activity relationship studies aimed at increasing the compound’s potency, selectivity, metabolic and pharmacokinetic properties, including brain penetration. A series of in vitro/cell-based assays, DMPK studies and testing in a murine AD model will guide compound progression. The successful completion of phase 1 will deliver an optimized lead compound ready for development and IND-enabling studies in phase 2.