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MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Alterity Therapeutics (ASX: ATH, NASDAQ: ATHE) ("Alterity" or "the Company"), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing disease modifying treatments for neurodegenerative conditions, today announced that the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (Medsafe) has authorized Alterity's Phase 2 clinical trial for ATH434 in Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a rare and highly debilitating Parkinsonian disorder.
"Approval by the New Zealand health authority to proceed with our Phase 2 clinical trial is a significant achievement as it clears the way to initiate the study in the first quarter of next year," said David Stamler, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Alterity. "ATH434 takes a novel approach to treating the underlying pathology of MSA by blocking α-synuclein aggregation and restoring iron balance in the brain. We look forward to starting our trial and bringing this potential disease therapy to patients with this devastating condition."
The Phase 2 clinical trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation of ATH434 in patients with early-stage MSA. The study will explore the effect of ATH434 treatment on imaging and protein biomarkers such as aggregating α-synuclein and excess iron, which are important contributors to MSA pathology. Clinical endpoints and other biomarkers will permit comprehensive assessment of ATH434 efficacy along with characterization of safety and pharmacokinetics. Patients will receive treatment for 12 months which will provide an opportunity to detect changes in efficacy endpoints to optimize design of a definitive Phase 3 study.
About ATH434
Alterity's lead candidate, ATH434, is the first of a new generation of small molecules designed to inhibit the aggregation of pathological proteins implicated in neurodegeneration. ATH434 has been shown preclinically to reduce α-synuclein pathology and preserve nerve cells by restoring normal iron balance in the brain. In this way, it has excellent potential to treat Parkinson's disease as well as various forms of atypical Parkinsonism such as Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). ATH434 has successfully completed a Phase 1 clinical trial demonstrating the agent is well tolerated, orally bioavailable, and achieved brain levels comparable to efficacious levels in animal models of MSA, with the objective of restoring function in patients with MSA and other Parkinsonian disorders.
ATH434 has been granted Orphan designation for the treatment of MSA by the U.S. FDA and the European Commission.
About Multiple System Atrophy
Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a rare, neurodegenerative disease characterized by a combination of symptoms that affect both the autonomic nervous system and movement. The symptoms reflect the progressive loss of function and death of different types of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It is a rapidly progressive disease and causes profound disability. MSA is a Parkinsonian disorder characterized by motor impairment, autonomic instability that affects involuntary functions such as blood pressure maintenance and bladder control, and impaired balance and/or coordination that predisposes to falls. A pathological hallmark of MSA is the accumulation of the protein α-synuclein within the support cells of the central nervous system and neuron loss in multiple brain regions. MSA affects approximately 15,000 individuals in the U.S., and while some of the symptoms of MSA can be treated with medications, currently there are no drugs that are able to slow disease progression and there is no cure.1
1National Institute of Health: Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Multiple System Atrophy Fact Sheet |
About Alterity Therapeutics Limited
Alterity Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to creating an alternate future for people living with neurodegenerative diseases. The Company's lead asset, ATH434, has the potential to treat various Parkinsonian disorders. Alterity also has a broad drug discovery platform generating patentable chemical compounds to intercede in disease processes. The Company is based in Melbourne, Australia, and San Francisco, California, USA. For further information please visit the Company's web site at www.alteritytherapeutics.com.
Authorization & Additional information
This announcement was authorized by David Stamler, CEO of Alterity Therapeutics Limited.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company has tried to identify such forward-looking statements by use of such words as "expects," "intends," "hopes," "anticipates," "believes," "could," "may," "evidences" and "estimates," and other similar expressions, but these words are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are described in the sections titled "Risk Factors" in the Company's filings with the SEC, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F as well as reports on Form 6-K, including, but not limited to the following: statements relating to the Company's drug development program, including, but not limited to the initiation, progress and outcomes of clinical trials of the Company's drug development program, including, but not limited to, ATH434, and any other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties relating to the difficulties or delays in financing, development, testing, regulatory approval, production and marketing of the Company's drug components, including, but not limited to, ATH434, uncertainties relating to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the company's business, operations and employees, the ability of the Company to procure additional future sources of financing, unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of the Company's drug compounds, including, but not limited to, ATH434, that could slow or prevent products coming to market, the uncertainty of obtaining patent protection for the Company's intellectual property or trade secrets, the uncertainty of successfully enforcing the Company's patent rights and the uncertainty of the Company freedom to operate.
Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
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