AXON's Tau Vaccine Offers Potential for Treating Frontotemporal Dementia Patients

  

AXON Neuroscience announced at the 13th International Conference on Alzheimer's & Parkinson's Diseases (AD/PD2017) that the encouraging clinical trial results of the company's active tau vaccine AADvac1 proved its therapeutic potential in Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). In cooperation with the German FTLD Consortium, AXON Neuroscience is starting a pilot Phase I study in patients suffering from the non-fluent variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (nfvPPA) - a subgroup of FTD. It is for the first time that nfvPPA patients worldwide will have the opportunity to participate in a clinical program with disease-modifying potential.

Potential to treat Frontotemporal Dementia with Tau Vaccine

Data from AXON's Phase I study in Alzheimer's Disease demonstrates that the antibodies elicited by vaccination with AADvac1 could recognize pathological tau protein in Alzheimer's Disease brains. This data suggests that the antibody response in patients can stop or slow down the progression of the disease.

During AD/PD 2017, AXON's Medical Director, Matej Ondrus, presented additional analysis of AXON's 18-month Follow-up Study of the Phase I, which directly confirms that the antibodies elicited by vaccination with AADvac1 could recognize pathological tau protein also in Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). This data displays that the antibodies produced by the vaccine target a common denominator of AD and FTD, in both of which tau pathology is the driver of the disease.

Matej Ondrus also noted the encouraging new findings from the study: "In this 96 weeks study we demonstrated that the vaccine is safe and we can detect first signals in the therapeutic efficacy." Norbert Zilka, Chief Science Officer of AXON, added: "We have observed a significant correlation between the amount of specific antibodies in the blood of treated patients and cognitive status. This finding nicely reflects our preclinical data. We are looking forward to confirm these results in the ongoing Phase II study in AD."  

Pilot Phase I Study in nfvPPA - a subgroup of FTD

In the second quarter of 2017, AXON, in cooperation with the German FTLD Consortium, is initiating a pilot Phase I study with its active tau vaccine in nfvPPA patients. Currently, there is no disease-modifying treatment available for this indication.

During AXON's sponsored symposium at AD/PD 2017, Prof. Markus Otto, who is leading the German FTLD Consortium, said: "We are studying FTD patients at the FTLD Consortium for a long time and this is the first time to offer a perspective treatment to them. Finally, we are to accomplish with AXON the big milestone in these indications, where the unmet medical need is exceptionally high."

Non-fluent variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (nfvPPA)

The non-fluent variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia is a neurodegenerative disorder from the group of Frontotemporal Dementias, where tau pathology is one of the main drivers of the disease. During the initial phase of the disease, nfvPPA presents with a prominent, isolated language deficit. There is a progressive impairment of language during conversation or through speech. Other cognitive functions and motor problems may be also affected as the disease progresses.  

AXON NEUROSCIENCE

AXON Neuroscience is a clinical-stage biotech company and a global leader in development of tau-immunotherapies. Researchers at AXON Neuroscience have worked extensively on the tau hypothesis for more than 25 years. AXON's focus is to deliver a disease-modifying drug and a diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's Disease and other Frontotemporal Dementias and bring a complex solution for people suffering from the devastating disease. 

Visitors to Care & Dementia Show Offered Insight into World of Dementia Through Virtual Experience

Visitors to this year's Care & Dementia Show (11-12 October, NEC, Birmingham) can experience first-hand just what people with dementia go through on a daily basis with a Virtual Dementia Experience.

  

The first of its kind in the UK and only the third in the world, the experience takes place onboard a mobile unit and offers an insight into the world of people with dementia. Aimed primarily at those caring for people with dementia, it has been devised to help improve the quality of care and understanding of the condition.

The Virtual Dementia Tour will be at the Care & Dementia Show for the first time, offering visitors two to three-minute taster sessions which will give them an idea just how disorientating living with dementia can be. This is followed by a debrief, explaining how they can change their working practices to accommodate the needs of people living with dementia.

Chris Edwards, Care & Dementia Show Brand Director, comments "With 850,000 people in the UK alone diagnosed with dementia, there needs to be a greater understanding of the condition and how we can better care for people living with the condition. We are very excited to bring this virtual experience to the show so that all of our visitors have the opportunity to access this invaluable resource."

To take part visitors will need to visit the Training2Care stand to make an appointment. Visitors will be equipped with glasses blocking their peripheral vision, headphones generating intense sounds and gloves which numb fingertips. They will then be asked to undertake a number of everyday tasks, all of which become extremely difficult with the props.

Glenn Knight, Managing Director of Training2Care which organises the experience, added "The Virtual Dementia Tour gives an opportunity to understand what we need to change to keep our loved ones at home longer, improve our practice and improve the quality of our care. Scary, isolating, confusing and emotional, this experience should not be missed, and will truly change the lives of people with the condition."

Visitors can register to attend for free at http://www.caredementiashow.com.

Stroke second leading cause of death – experts discuss strong link between stroke and dementia

 “Stroke has finally been recognized at international level – for example at the UN Post-2015 Sustainable Development summit – as one of the core diseases globally in need of prevention, improved management and continued surveillance,” Bo Norrving, Professor of Neurology at Lund University, Sweden, said at the World Congress of Neurology (WCN 2015). About 3,500 participants are gathered in the Chilean capital Santiago for the world's leading neurology event. “This reflects the high burden the disease imposes on individuals, their families and societies. Stroke is the second leading cause of death, and the most common cause of disability in adults. Modern neurology is making major advances in the prevention, therapy and rehabilitation of stroke. Nonetheless, the disorder still poses major challenges,” he added. 

The latest data on the incidence, prevalence, mortality and socioeconomic consequences of stroke at global, regional and national levels have been published just in time for World Stroke Day on 29 October in a special issue of the journal Neuroepidemiology (www.karger.com/ned), “The Global Burden of Stroke”, which is co-edited by Prof Norrving. These papers are offered open access to readers worldwide. One of the major findings of the comprehensive research programme which assesses mortality and disability from major diseases, injuries and risk factors is that there is still no country in the world, where the burden of stroke, in terms of the absolute number of individuals affected by or dying from stroke, has declined over the last two decades. The bulk of stroke burden continues to be borne by developing countries. The overall incidence of stroke in younger adults is increasing globally and now represents almost half of the total burden.

“At this year’s WCN the spotlight is firmly on the strong link between the two largest neurological diseases: stroke and dementia. One in three people will develop either of these,” noted Prof Norrving. “The pathologies of both conditions seem to interact, and it is important to point out that they have virtually the same risk factors, which include high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, obesity or lack of physical activity. These findings represent an opportunity to prevent or delay both conditions.”

The potential for modifying risk factors is set to be underlined in a WCN lecture by the internationally renowned stroke expert Prof Vladimir Hachinski from Western University, London, Canada. “In the past 20 years, stroke incidence has increased by 225 percent in low and middle income countries while it has declined by 42 percent in high income countries”, he said. “Trends in the latter also reflect decreasing incidence of dementia. The data suggests that the big differences are not due to changes in the genetic makeup, but improvements in risk factor control,” he concluded.

Simmons & Simmons advises the UK Department of Health on a world first dementia fund

International law firm Simmons & Simmons has advised the UK Department of Health on the launch of the global Dementia Discovery Fund.

The Dementia Discovery Fund is the world’s first venture capital fund dedicated to funding pre-clinical research for a cure or treatment of dementia and is a collaboration between the UK Government (Department of Health), six global pharmaceutical companies (Biogen, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company) and the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK. Simmons & Simmons, working as a team with the Government Legal department, advised the Department of Health on all matters related to the launch of the fund, including the competitive tender to appoint the fund manager, which resulted in the appointment of venture capital firm SV Life Sciences.

The new fund is a significant collaboration that brings together the combined expertise of government, financial, industry and charity partners. Simmons & Simmons has a long standing track record of acting for the UK Government on high profile, innovative matters. Its market leading sector expertise in both Life Sciences and Asset Management and Investment Funds enabled it to help navigate simultaneously the complex regulatory framework in both of these sectors.

Commenting on the transaction, partner Charles Mayo, said:

“Supporting our clients on innovative projects such as the Dementia Discovery Fund reinforces the rationale for our sector approach: by combining excellence in asset management with in-depth knowledge of life sciences research and development, together with the Government Legal Department, we have been able to advise the UK Government in taking a critical step towards addressing one of the substantial public health challenges of the 21^st century.”

Partner Matthew Pitman also added:

“Investment funds continue to be an important source of capital in a complex regulatory environment – innovative funding structures are certainly on the increase.  We were delighted that our experience had a valuable contribution to the Department of Health for such an important project and significant development in this sector.”

The Simmons & Simmons team was led by partners Charles Mayo and Matthew Pitman, assisted by Victoria Hewitt and George Metcalfe. The team also included partners Koen Platteau (EC/Competition), Darren Oswick (Tax), Richard Binns (IP) and Julian Perlmutter (US Securities).