Roundup: Strategic partnership to develop a novel therapy for Alzheimer’s, and more
NR Times explores the latest business and pharma developments in the world of neuro-rehabilitation.
Strategic partnership to develop novel therapy for Alzheimer’s disease
JCR Pharmaceuticals has entered into a joint collaboration with Acumen Pharmaceuticals to develop a novel therapeutic candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
The treatment is enabled by JCR’s proprietary blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrating technology platform, J-Brain Cargo.
The collaboration focuses on developing a blood-brain barrier-penetrating treatment for Alzheimer’s that combines JCR’s J-Brain Cargo with Acumen’s amyloid beta oligomer (AβO)-selective antibodies, which target toxic soluble AβOs, a key pathological driver in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The programme aims to demonstrate the feasibility of J-Brain Cargo in delivering sabirnetug and other AβO-selective antibodies across the BBB to slow the progression for AD pathology.
J-Brain Cargo is JCR’s proprietary platform that enables the systemic delivery of biotherapeutics to the CNS through a mechanism known as receptor-mediated transcytosis.
The technology has been clinically validated with IZCARGO, the first approved drug in Japan to use the platform, for the treatment of a lysosomal storage disorder with CNS involvement.
Partnership to advance therapeutic development with ultrasensitive biomarker detection
Bio-Techne Corporation is entering into a strategic partnership to distribute Spear Bio’s next-generation ultrasensitive immunoassays, enabling the detection of low-abundance biomarkers in neurology.
Under the agreement, Bio-Techne will distribute Spear Bio’s ultrasensitive immunoassays for challenging low-abundance biomarkers, including key Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers such as phosphorylated tau 217, GFAP, neurofilament light (Nf-L), and phosphorylated tau 231.
The initial offering will focus on key biomarkers supporting translational research in Alzheimer’s disease. This partnership follows Bio-Techne’s participation in Spear Bio’s US$45m Series A funding round in 2024.
Cell therapy for Parkinson’s Disease shows positive data
S.Biomedics has announced one-year post-transplant results from Phase 1/2a clinical trial evaluating A9-DPC cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease.
A9-DPC (also called TED-A9) is an investigational cell therapy designed to replace ventral midbrain-specific dopaminergic neurons lost in patients with Parkinson’s disease. These ventral midbrain-specific dopaminergic cells are derived from hESCs (human embryonic stem cells) by exclusively utilising small molecules.
The data demonstrate a favorable safety and efficacy profile of A9-DPC in 12 participants at 12 months compared to baseline. Participants were divided equally into a low-dose group of 3.15 million cells and a high-dose group of 6.30 million cells.
The MDS-UPDRS Part III (off) score, a standard scale for assessing motor symptom severity in Parkinson’s disease, showed a mean decrease (improvement) of 12.7 points in the low-dose group and 15.5 points in the high-dose group at 12 months compared to baseline.
There were also improvements in MDS-UPDRS Part I, II and IV scores. The MDS-UPDRS Total (off) score showed mean improvements of 29.0 points and 34.7 points in the low- and high-dose groups, respectively.
Clinical improvements were further supported by changes in the Hoehn and Yahr stage, an ordinal scale categorising disease severity based on motor function. On average, low-dose recipients improved (decreased) from stage 3.7 to 2.7, while high-dose recipients demonstrated a greater improvement from stage 3.8 to 2.2.
A9-DPC also demonstrated favorable outcomes in other assessments, including the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale, the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 and the Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale. NMSS score improved by 31.7 points in the low-dose group and by 35.8 points in the high-dose group.
FP-CIT PET imaging showed an overall increase in putamen DAT signals, with greater increases observed in the high-dose group, providing additional evidence for the underlying mechanism of action.
Notably, there was a statistically significant correlation between improvements in MDS-UPDRS Part III (off) scores and increased DAT signal in the posterior dorsal putamen, supporting the hypothesis of synaptic restoration through engrafted cells.
Collaboration to support patients with dementia
Virtual dementia care provider, Remo Health, is collaborating with the Cleveland Clinic Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) on a pilot initiative to deliver comprehensive support to eligible patients living with dementia and their caregivers.
The Cleveland Clinic ACO is committed to helping its patients age independently in their homes for as long as possible.
The parties say that the collaboration delivers robust resources and personalised care, especially crucial for rural families who often drive hours to appointments and working caregivers.
As an added benefit, Cleveland Clinic ACO patients in Ohio will now have access to a nationwide peer support network of over 20,000 families, connecting them with others navigating a similar journey.
Steve Wardle joins BrainCheck as president to scale cognitive care platform
Digital cognitive assessment and care platform, BrainCheck, announced today that Steve Wardle, former co-founder and CEO of Iris Healthcare, has joined the company as president.
Wardle will lead BrainCheck’s care delivery and product development as the company expands its footprint in primary care, neurology, and value-based care environments.
Wardle co-founded Iris Healthcare, a tech-enabled advance care planning platform, where he built and scaled a national clinician network, secured major payer contracts, and helped thousands of patients and families navigate serious illness with dignity and clarity.
Following its acquisition by Aledade in 2022, Wardle joined Aledade as a senior leader, where he focused on scaling Iris, other patient-facing programmes, and practice support services across the largest network of independent primary care providers in the country. Wardle holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
MedRhythms appoints Larry Jasinski as CEO
MedRhythms, a company pioneering the development of next-generation neurotherapeutics to improve walking, mobility and related functional outcomes, and creator of the world’s first prescription music platform, has announced the appointment of Larry Jasinski as Chief Executive Officer.
Co-founder of MedRhythms, Brian Harris will transition to the role of Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and work with Larry to build the market and grow the company in its next phase.
MedRhythms says Jasinski is an industry veteran with a proven track record in neurorehabilitation and fundraising, and brings more than three decades of executive leadership in the medical device and neurotechnology industries.
Most recently, he served as CEO of Lifeward, formerly ReWalk Robotics, where he led the company through a successful IPO and secured national reimbursement for the first exoskeleton system for spinal cord injury. Prior to that, he was President and CEO of Soteira, Inc., which was acquired by Globus Medical in 2012.
