QR Pharma to Present at 10th Annual World Pharma Congress on Parkinson’s Disease
/0 Comments/in Press Release /by adminBerwyn, PA, June 2, 2011 QR Pharma, Inc., a developer of novel compounds to treat Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disorders, announced today that Dr. Maria Maccecchini, chief executive officer, will speak at Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s 10th Annual World Pharma Congress Drug Discovery Summit – Targeting Parkinson’s Disease, in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Maccecchini will present “Inhibition of α-Synuclein by Regulating its Translation Level”. α-synuclein has been shown to be elevated in Parkinson’s disease, mediate neurotoxicity and aggregate into Lewy bodies. Since Posiphen® inhibits α-synuclein expression in cultured neural cells and lowers its levels in mouse brain; it has the potential to be efficacious in Parkinson’s therapy. The session will be held on Thursday June 9, 2011, at 10:45 AM at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center, Philadelphia, PA.
About Posiphen®
QR’s lead compound, Posiphen®, is a small orally active compound with high blood brain barrier permeability, which lowers amyloid precursor protein (APP) levels. It targets the mRNA of a number of proteins that are overexpressed in several neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Down syndrome. It is in clinical development as an oral treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Posiphen reduces the rate of synthesis of APP in cell cultures, normal, transgenic and trisomic mice as well as in humans. APP is cleaved into a number of toxic peptides, including Aβ42, which is cleaved from the middle while the others are cleaved from the N- and C- terminal ends. These peptides attack multiple pathways of neuronal cell life leading to synaptic loss and nerve cell death. This degeneration of the brain induces dysfunction, neuroinflammation and leads to cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration. QR conducted a trial in patients with mild cognitive impairment to confirm Posiphen’s mechanism of action in humans and correlate it with the pharmacokinetics of the compound and its metabolites in CSF and plasma. Posiphen lowers levels of APP, tau and inflammatory markers by about 40%, approaching the levels found in healthy volunteers.
About QR Pharma, Inc.
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, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease and Down syndrome. QR currently has three product development programs – Posiphen for early stage AD and PD and BNC for advanced AD. For more information on QR Pharma, please visit the company’s website, www.qrpharma.com.
Contact: Maria Maccecchini, CEO
Tel: 610 727 3910
Maccecchini@qrpharma.com
www.qrpharma.com
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