Medicine against Alzheimer's disease: made in FEFU
FEFU scientists are moving to preclinical tests
drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
Anna Leontieva, FEFU
A team of scientists from the Far Eastern Federal University is starting preclinical trials of a new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The work is carried out within the framework of the Federal Target Program "Development of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry" ("Pharma-2020") together with the Research Institute of Chemical Diversity of the Center for High Technologies "HimRar" – a world leader in the field of drug development. By the end of 2016, scientists expect to receive a "prototype tablet" ready for clinical trials on humans. The project is headed by Maxim Khotimchenko, MD, Head of the Pharmacology and Bio-Testing Laboratory of the FEFU School of Biomedicine.
FEFU researchers managed to obtain a unique substance – its structure has not yet been disclosed, but it is known that such drugs are used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases to reduce thrombosis.
– In this case, we found that the substance promotes the breakdown of amyloid plaques in the brain – according to one hypothesis, it is the accumulation of beta-amyloid that causes Alzheimer's disease, and the accumulation of these plaques leads to impaired memory, attention and other cognitive abilities. After conducting laboratory studies on animals and cellular structures, we received data that the amount of amyloid is decreasing – it is likely that this medicine will be able to make life easier for patients with Alzheimer's disease, – Maxim Khotimchenko hopes.
Having received preliminary data that the new substance could be effective, the scientists formed an application for funding preclinical trials and submitted it to the Federal Target Program competition. According to Maxim Khotimchenko, it was not possible to pass the scientific and technical council from the first time - about a year the researchers additionally tested the substance for toxicity. As a result, in mid-2014, the application was approved, and FEFU received funding to conduct preclinical trials for two years.
– By the end of 2016, we must prove that our drug is effective and safe – plaques really disintegrate, and the functions of higher nervous activity are restored in laboratory animals. We have special methods and equipment for this," Maxim Khotimchenko said. – As a result, we will have to develop a dosage form – that is, in fact, by the end of 2016, we will receive a "prototype tablet" ready for clinical trials on humans.
Preclinical tests will be carried out simultaneously at FEFU and at HimRar, located in the Moscow region. Until now, the Chemical Diversity Research Institute has been actively developing the necessary substance, but in February, colleagues will hand over these samples to scientists from FEFU so that they can start testing on laboratory animals. It is planned that representatives of several departments of the FEFU School of Biomedicine will be involved in the work: the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Bio-Testing, the Department of Pharmacy, the Laboratory of Cell Technologies, the Laboratory of Molecular Cellular Neurobiology, the Laboratory of Medical Chemistry, as well as the Institute of Marine Biology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru30.01.2015