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January 26, 2000
Neurochem Inc. awarded $7.9 Million funding by Federal Technology Partnership to
further development of its promising Alzheimer treament.
Funds to be used for the accelerated clinical development of the firm's breakthrough
technology for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Neurochem Inc., a St. Laurent, Quebec-based biopharmaceutical company, today announced
that Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) has agreed to invest $7.9 million in the
firm's ground-breaking drug candidate for the prevention and treatment of
Alzheimer's disease. The funds will allow Neurochem to advance its lead compound
Alzhemed™, through pre-clinical and clinical development phases to
licensing and commercialization. The TPC investment, covering a period of three years,
will be reimbursed from royalties on the sale of the medication.
"Today's announcement marks another significant milestone in Neurochem's development
strategy based on strategic research alliances," said Dr. Louis R. Lamontagne,
President and CEO of Neurochem. "For our lead compound, Alzhemed™, this
injection of funding by Technology Partnerships Canada will not only accelerate the
clinical development of a much needed drug therapy but it will reduce our horizon to
approximately five years in terms of bringing it to market," added Dr. Lamontagne.
Last November, Neurochem signed a strategic agreement with the Danish pharmaceutical
company H. Lundbeck A/S, a world leader in the development and marketing of products
in the field of neurological diseases. "This decision by the Canadian Government is
important and exciting news for our partner, Neurochem," said Ole Chrintz, President
of Lundbeck Canada. "It will significantly contribute to strengthen Neurochem's
position in the discovery and development of compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer's
disease. The world's aging population and the current lack of effective treatments for
Alzheimer's disease lead us to believe that Neurochem's innovation will answer a huge
unmet need internationally by addressing the underlying pathogenesis of the disease and
we are proud to be associated with them."
The research and licensing agreement provides for milestone payments to Neurochem by
Lundbeck upon achieving certain goals, in addition to research support programs over a
three-year period. The agreement also calls for equity investments in Neurochem and
royalty payments based on sales while providing Lundbeck with an exclusive right to
develop and commercialize products resulting from the project, except in Canada where
Neurochem has retained the rights to co-commercialize the products resulting from the
collaboration.
Neurochem plans to complete Phase I clinical trials begun in June 1999 and to initiate
Phase II trials as early as the fall of this year. "We expect to be in a position
to seek regulatory approvals by 2005," explained Dr. Lamontagne.
About 79 direct jobs are expected to be created or maintained as well as an additional
51 jobs at canadian hospital and university research centres and institutes and other
biopharmaceutical companies.
Neurochem's innovative approach is based on the prevention and inhibition of amyloid
fibrillogenesis, the formation of amyloid deposits which leads to the death of neuronal
cells of the brain. The Company has designed and synthesized compounds which mimic the
function of complex carbohydrates in the body known as GAGs (sulfated glycosaminoglycans)
and compete with these naturally-occurring proteins. Abnormal amyloid deposits build up
in specific tissues and organs such as in Alzheimer's disease, where they form plaques in
the brain. The synthetic compounds interfere with the formation and deposit of amyloid
aggregates through the biochemical mimicking of the GAGs . They have also been proven to
have a neuroprotective effect.
The economic burden of treating Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in Canada has
been estimated at around $3.9 billion annually. This amount does not include the indirect
costs of lost productivity and lost income (opportunity costs) for caregivers and families
who are affected by the disease of a loved one. In comparison, a 1993 Health Canada study
established the annual cost of caring for other diseases such as diabetes at $1.14 billion,
strokes at $2.7 billion and the combination of bronchitis, emphysema and asthma at $4.3
billion. In the United States, medical costs expended to treat Alzheimer's disease represent
approximately $100 billion, making it the third most expensive disease after heart
disease and cancer.
"During the accelerated clinical development of Alzhemed™, our Research and
Development teams will also develop several "second generation" Alzheimer's
disease molecules and we expect multiple outcomes such as the development of diagnostic
tests and of new efficient drug delivery systems as well as disease management
programs" added Dr. Lamontagne. "Our core technology was developed here in
Canada and will spawn new R&D opportunities as well as health benefits for millions of
Alzheimer's disease patients around the world. For Canada, we can foresee sizeable
economic impact in terms of savings for our health care system."
Established in 1993, Neurochem Inc,. is a Canadian industry leader in the development of
a novel, proprietary series of compounds that prevent and inhibit the formation, deposit
and toxic effects of amyloid fibrils on cells of different organs within the body. Neurochem
researchers have been working with international amyloid experts to develop therapeutic cures
for several disease states including Alzheimer's disease, Secondary amyloidosis and other
amyloid-related diseases. Neurochem has currently advanced two drug candidates to clinical
trials: Alzhemed™, for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and
the orphan drug Fibrillex™, for the orphan disease secondary amyloidosis.
Neurochem is headquartered in St. Laurent, Québec and has a full-time staff of some
45 employees. Neurochem's financial partners include Atlas Venture, the Business Development
Bank of Canada, BioCapital, Le Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du
Québec (FTQ), Quorum Group of Companies Inc., La Société
Financière d'Innovation Inc., and La Société Innovatech du Grand
Montréal.
Neurochem's financial investors comprise Atlas Venture, the Business Development Bank of
Canada, BioCapital, le Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ),
Quorum Group of Companies, la Société Financière d'Innovation Inc.,
and la Société Innovatech du Grand Montréal.
Contacts for Neurochem Inc:
Dr. Louis Lamontagne
President & CEO
Dr. Lise Hébert
Vice President, Corporate Communications
lhebert@neurochem.com
275 Armand-Frappier
Laval (Quebec)
H7V 4A7
Tel: (450) 680-4500
Fax: (450) 680-4501
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