Memory to develop AZ drug

Memory Pharmaceuticals to to develop MEM 63908, a new drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. MEM 63908 is the fifth development candidate in Memory Pharmaceuticals' pipeline.

MEM 63908 is a partial agonist of the nicotinic alpha-7 receptor and belongs to a family of novel nicotinic alpha-7 receptor agonists that the company is currently developing under its 2003 collaboration with Roche. Found primarily in the brain, nicotinic alpha-7 receptors have a number of properties that suggest they may play a unique role in neuronal function.

'In preclinical testing, MEM 63908 has demonstrated improved learning and memory function in healthy and cognitively-aged impaired animals and has demonstrated a good safety profile in toxicological and safety studies,' said Dr David Lowe, chief scientific officer of Memory Pharmaceuticals. 'We believe MEM 63908 is a compelling compound and we are enthusiastic about its nomination as a development candidate.'

Alzheimer's disease patients typically exhibit amyloid plaques which are clumps of protein that form deposits around neurons. Preclinical data from several laboratories suggests that the amyloid protein from which these plaques are formed disrupts the function of the nicotinic alpha-7 receptor.

Memory Pharmaceuticals believes MEM 63908, a partial agonist of the nicotinic alpha-7 agonist, could overcome the effect of the amyloid protein and thereby may be beneficial as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.