Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Collaborator Presents Neuroprotective Data for Oral Drug Candidate SRT501 at North American Neuro-Ophtha
March 10 2008 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRT), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs
to treat diseases of aging, announced today that drug candidate
SRT501, when orally administered, suppressed neurological
dysfunction in a preclinical model of multiple sclerosis. Kenneth
Shindler, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the
University of Pennsylvania Scheie Eye Institute and lead
investigator, will present the data today at the North American
Neuro-Ophthalmology Society annual meeting. The new data builds on
earlier work by Dr. Shindler in the same preclinical model showing
that activation of the SIRT1 enzyme with SRT501 is neuroprotective
for optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve that can cause
a complete or partial loss of vision) by reducing the loss of
retinal ganglion cells. Optic neuritis is common in patients with
multiple sclerosis and can be an early warning sign for the
disease. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Senior Vice Present for
Development, Peter Elliott, PhD, was a co-author of this work
published in the August 2007 issue of Investigative Opthalmology
& Visual Science. In the new work, Dr. Shindler�s team used
mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which
causes the autoimmune system to attack the eye and central nervous
system. These effects on the central nervous system mirror symptoms
observed in patients with multiple sclerosis. The mice were
observed for clinical signs of EAE, measured by the strength and
duration of tail and limb paralysis. Mice were given daily oral
doses of SRT501 at 1000 mg/kg beginning at day 10 through day 14,
the peak day of the autoimmune system attack. The paralysis scores
of the treated mice improved more completely than the untreated
mice following the first clinical episode of EAE. �We have
previously established that we can reduce the loss of retinal
ganglion cells during acute optic neuritis in EAE mice with SRT501
when injected into the vitreous layer of the eye,� said Dr.
Shindler. �This work shows oral SRT501 exerts similar effects in
optic neuritis and leads to suppression of observed dysfunction in
the first clinical episode of EAE, suggesting added neuroprotective
benefits of SIRT1 activation.� About Sirtris Pharmaceuticals
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
discovering and developing proprietary, orally available, small
molecule drugs with the potential to treat diseases associated with
aging, including metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes. Our
drug candidates are designed to mimic certain beneficial health
effects of calorie restriction, without requiring a change in
eating habits, by activation of sirtuins, a recently discovered
class of enzymes that the Company believes control the aging
process. The company's headquarters are in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited
to, the potential therapeutic effects of SIRT1 activators for
diseases of aging, such as Type 2 Diabetes, neurodegenerative
disorders and cancer; the progress and results of pre-clinical
studies of SIRT1 activators; and the potential of sirtuin
modulators to receive regulatory approval. These forward-looking
statements about future expectations, plans and prospects of
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals involve significant risks, uncertainties
and assumptions, including risks related to the lack of results
that would provide a basis for predicting whether any of the
Company's product candidates will be safe or effective, or receive
regulatory approval, the possibility that results of pre-clinical
studies are not necessarily predictive of clinical trial results,
the Company's potential inability to initiate and complete
pre-clinical studies and clinical trials for its product
candidates, the fact that none of the Company's product candidates
has received regulatory approvals, the potential inability of the
Company to gain market acceptance of the Company's product
candidates, and those other risks factors that can be found in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Actual results may differ materially from those Sirtris
Pharmaceuticals contemplated by these forward-looking statements.
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals does not undertake to update any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or
events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release.
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