2024/07/29

Dong-A ST announced on July 26 that it will present preclinical research results of its tau-targeting dementia treatment, DA-7503, via a poster presentation at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 28 to August 1 (local time).

AAIC is the largest international conference in the Alzheimer's field, where researchers, scholars, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies from around the world gather annually to share research findings and engage in various discussions about Alzheimer's disease.

At this conference, Dong-A ST will present a poster titled "Improvement of Tau Pathology and Reduction of Tau in Cerebrospinal Fluid by DA-7503 in Alzheimer's Disease and Tauopathy Models.”

The presentation will disclose data on the effects of DA-7503 in improving memory and cognitive function in animal models of Alzheimer's disease and tauopathy, inhibiting tau aggregation and phosphorylation in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, and reducing tau levels in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Tau proteins bind to microtubules in neurons to stabilize their structure. In pathological conditions like Alzheimer's disease, altered tau proteins detach from microtubules, forming tau oligomers and aggregates that exhibit neurotoxicity. DA-7503 is a small molecule tau aggregation inhibitor being developed as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease and tauopathies. It selectively acts on altered tau, inhibiting oligomer formation and intracellular accumulation.

Dong-A ST received approval for a Phase 1 Clinical Trial Application (IND) for DA-7503 from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in April and initiated the Phase 1 trial in May. The trial will assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic characteristics of DA-7503 after single and multiple oral doses in 72 healthy adults and elderly participants.

A representative from Dong-A ST stated, "Through this preclinical research, we demonstrated that increasing blood levels of DA-7503 correspond to a dependent reduction of tau in the cerebrospinal fluid, supporting the potential of DA-7503 as a tau-clearance agent. We are committed to developing a first-in-class dementia treatment that can innovatively address the challenges of dementia."

Additionally, DA-7503 has been selected as a dementia treatment development project by the Korea Dementia Research Center (KDRC), under a collaborative agreement supporting its development and other related processes. The KDRC provides staged support for dementia-related research and development projects in South Korea.
 

Source : https://www.koreaittimes.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=133559