BERWYN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--QR Pharma, Inc. (QR) announced today a new collaborative research agreement with The Rockefeller University aimed at developing a treatment for Huntington’s disease (HD).
The collaboration will focus on preclinical research involving QR’s lead drug candidate, Posiphen®. Investigators at Rockefeller will conduct experiments in stem cell culture models of HD to determine, if Posiphen lowers the levels of the toxic huntingtin protein in these cells, if it promotes differentiation into neuronal cells and, if it prolongs the cell life of the HD cells. Results from the collaboration could lead to clinical studies in HD patients.
Posiphen inhibits amyloid precursor protein (APP) and therefore a major pathway leading to Alzheimer’s disease. It also inhibits α-Synuclein, an important player in a pathway linked to Parkinson’s disease. Recently, the same compound also was shown to inhibit huntingtin, the protein that is seen at high levels in HD.
“QR Pharma’s technology targets the mRNA of a number of proteins that are over expressed in several neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Down Syndrome, and Huntington’s disease in a manner that has the potential to impact disease progression,” said Maria Maccecchini, Ph.D., CEO of QR Pharma.
About QR Pharma: Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, QR Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company committed to developing therapeutics with novel approaches for the treatment of cognitive impairment in neurological disorders. QR currently has three product development programs: Posiphen for early stage Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, and BNC for advanced AD. QR has successfully completed Phase I clinical trials with Posiphen and is conducting other clinical and pre-clinical work in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) for the US Army. QR has recently been chosen for a human trial in Alzheimer’s patients in a NIH sponsored clinical trial.
Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release or made by management from time to time regarding QR Pharma that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements,” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements.
For more information on QR Pharma, please visit the company’s website, www.qrpharma.com.
