Ixico Regulatory News (IXI)

5 May 2009 09:14



The Cure Parkinson's Trust confirms its commitment to the development of Cogane for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease

CPT commits to hosting a Key Opinion Leader Event to expediate the development of Cogane

GODMANCHESTER, Cambridgeshire, U.K. (05 May 2009) - Phytopharm plc (LSE: PYM) ("Phytopharm" or the "Company") announces today that the The Cure Parkinson's Trust (CPT) has commited to supporting the development of Cogane™ as a treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD). The CPT will host an International Key Opinion Leader Event on 11-12 May 2009 in order to facilitate the progression of Cogane™.

Tom Isaacs, Co-founder of the CPT commented: "The Cure Parkinson's Trust is delighted to be able to confirm its support of Phytopharm in the development of Cogane, a drug with significant potential in the treatment of Parkinson's. We fully support the development of Cogane™ and are commited to funding and jointly organising the key oponion leader event with Phytopharm."

The continued success of pre-clinical testing on Cogane and the verification of Phytopharm's commitment to prioritising Cogane as a treatment for Parkinson's disease were confirmed at a meeting between the CPT and the new Executive Management of Phytopharm.

In pre-clinical models, Cogane reverses the changes in the area of the brain involved in Parkinson's disease by inducing the body's own production of proteins known as neurotrophic factors. In particular, one of these factors known as "GDNF" has been shown to be particularly effective in re-growing damaged nerves. Since GDNF is a protein it cannot be given orally (in pill or liquid form) because it is degraded in the stomach and intestine, and also does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier. GDNF can work only when injected into or when produced inside the brain. Direct injection of GDNF into the area of the brain involved in Parkinson's disease has shown substantial beneficial effects in small-scale clinical studies but requires highly complex and difficult surgical procedures. Cogane™, which can be taken orally, readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and stimulates the release of GDNF in the brain and therefore has the potential to overcome many of the difficulties associated with GDNF administration.

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Notes to Editors

Phytopharm plc

Phytopharm is a pharmaceutical development and functional food company. Our products are developed from medicinal plants, thereby reducing the development risk, cost and time to market. As a virtual company, Phytopharm's model is centred on a lean cash burn with all laboratory, manufacturing and clinical work out-sourced to specialists, while core competencies such as strategy and management are maintained in-house. Close collaboration with charitable organisations enhances our interaction with Key Opinion Leaders and accelerates our development programmes increasing their value.

Cogane™

Cogane™ (PYM50028) is a novel non-peptide, orally bioavailable neurotrophic factor inducer that readily crosses the blood-brain barrier. In pre-clinical studies, Cogane™ stimulates the release of neuronal growth factors such as GDNF, increases neurite outgrowth and protects against neuronal degeneration. Importantly, Cogane™ also reverses the decrease of GDNF and reverses dopaminergic neuronal degeneration observed in vitro and in vivo. When administered orally to pre-clinical models of Parkinson's disease, Cogane™ reverses the loss of dopaminergic neurones.

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder characterised by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement (bradykinesia) and, in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement (akinesia). The primary symptoms are the result of altered signalling of an area of the brain, the striatum, responsible for the control of movement. This is caused by degeneration of dopaminergic neurones between the striatum and the substantia nigra part of the brain leading to insufficient formation and action of dopamine. Parkinson's disease is therefore termed a neurodegenerative disease. The disease is slow in onset and the appearance of symptoms reflects the gradual loss of dopaminergic neurones.

The prevalence of the disease is estimated to be 100 to 200 per 100,000 population (Source: Datamonitor). In the US alone, there are estimated to be one million patients with diagnosed Parkinson's disease with associated healthcare costs to the economy of $25 billion (Source: Northwest Parkinson's Foundation submission to US Congress). Parkinson's disease can affect people of any age, though the incidence is higher in older people. Individuals will experience varying combinations of the symptoms, each with differing degrees of severity. The cause of Parkinson's disease in the majority of cases is unknown (idiopathic Parkinson's disease), though some cases have been found to have a hereditary component (familial Parkinson's disease) and possible mechanisms include oxidative damage of nerve cells coupled with loss of neurotrophic factors. Neurotrophic factors such as GDNF are essential for the survival and maintenance of nerve cells and provide protection against toxic insults, however as proteins, their utility as pharmacological treatments are limited (Source: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research).

At present, there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, but a variety of medications provide relief from the symptoms, usually by dopamine replacement therapy either by L-DOPA, which is converted to dopamine in the striatum, or by dopamine agonists which act on the dopamine receptors to restore normal motor function (control of movement). However, both treatments cause either less dopamine to be released by the brain or the dopamine receptors to become progressively less sensitive, thereby eventually increasing the symptoms of the underlying Parkinson's disease. There is an urgent need for the development of new approaches to this debilitating condition and non-peptide orally bioavailable neurotrophic factor inducers which readily cross the blood brain barrier represent an important therapeutic approach.

For further information about Phytopharm please see our website at www.phytopharm.com