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CogState Ltd
www.cogstate.com
July 21, 2004
CogState Therapeutics Division Announces Progress in Drug
Development Milestones for its programmes in Alzheimer’s Disease
and Parkinson’s Disease
CogState (ASX: CGS) has announced that it has reached a milestone in the development
of it’s Angiotensin 4 (AT4) receptor agonist programme to develop a drug for the
treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. These AT4 agonists are believed to have potential to
treat Alzheimer’s Disease partly through their effect in breaking down amyloid, a
compound believed to be toxic and found in the brains of many patients with the disease.
Scientists in the US (Professors Joe Harding and Jay Wright at the University of
Washington in Pullman) who were responsible for first characterising the AT4 receptor in
and who recently signed a licensing agreement with the Company, have successfully
developed the first BIOASSAY for the positive effects on cognitive behaviour of drugs
which stimulate the AT4 receptor. This novel assay, with staggering sensitivity down to
0.1 picomoles (a trillionth of a molar concentration – a metric used by research scientists)
is expected to accelerate the screening of new compounds to find a drug-like molecule
that could potentially be used as a treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease. Without a
bioassay, cumbersome and time-consuming animal trials are necessary to screen likely
drug candidates.
Dr. Peter Bick, CEO of CogState comments “Professor’s Jay Wright and Joe Harding
have also already used this assay to screen a series of peptide fragments (small drugs
with a protein structure) and have found affinity and activity at concentrations as low as a
few picomoles”. Many drugs on the market today have much lower potency in the
nanomolar (billionth) or micromolar (millionth) range, indicating that the compounds
synthesised here are an order of magnitude more potent. Dr. Bick added “the road
towards converting these peptide fragments into a drug on the market is very long indeed,
and the first step is to now convert them into small molecule analogues which mimic the
behaviour of these compounds, but have the attributes of a drug in that they can be taken
orally and get into the brain. The next step would then be to optimise a lead candidate for
animal toxicology trials and ultimately for use in human clinical trials. The good news is
that CogState now has the right tools to attack these challenges and is ahead of the
milestones outlined at the time the company listed earlier this year.
CogState has also announced achieving progress in its programme to develop a
treatment for Parkinson’s Disease. 10 grams of its lead compound, Cog0392 has been
synthesised and an assay is being validated at a contract laboratory in Queensland to
enable the compound to be further tested.
Dr. Peter Bick, CEO of CogState comments “by early next year, we hope to have in-vivo
preclinical evidence showing that Cog0392 can be taken orally and is not only absorbed
into the brain, but also increases the amount of dopamine in the brain (a compound which
is deficient in the brains of people with Parkinson’s Disease)”. If these results are
positive, then the company will be in a position to make a decision about the timetable for
initiating animal toxicology trials and the preparation of an IND for starting human clinical
trials later that calendar year.
About CogState: The company specialises in computerised technology for the detection
of neurological problems and one of its major markets is the detection of concussion in
athletes. By taking baseline data using their computerise tests, coaches and parents can
then retest following injury – to determine when the player can return to the game.
CogState has a significant client list of elite sporting clubs and organizations including
AFL, the US Olympic Ski Team and the UK Jockey Club. Major Pharmaceutical
companies also purchase the computerised test in human clinical trials to determine the
effect of drugs on cognitive performance.
The CogState test is also used for the very early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease. The
test was recently recommended by the Alzheimers Association of Australia (Victoria) for
use by all people over 50 for baseline data and for annual testing to detect any evidence
of Alzheimer’s. While there is no cure for the disease there are a number of drugs which
can delay the disease if used early on.
CogState has a therapeutics division which has in-licensed two drug targets from leading
medical research organisations in Japan and Israel for the treatment of Alzheimer's
Disease and Parkinson's Disease respectively.
Contact: Dr. Peter A. Bick, CEO CogState Ltd 0408 415 823