ATHE - Alterity Therapeutics Parkinson's Disease and Multiple System Atrophy Data Featured at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2024 Annual Meeting | Benzinga
– ATH434 Improved Motor Performance and General Function in a Primate Model of Parkinson's Disease –
– ATH434-201 Phase 2 Baseline Data Confirm Approach to Target Biomarkers for Slowing Disease Progression –
– 12-Month Data from bioMUSE Study Shows Key Biomarker is Associated with Disease Progression in MSA –
MELBOURNE, Australia and SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alterity Therapeutics ((ASX: ATH, NASDAQ:ATHE) ("Alterity" or "the Company"), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing disease modifying treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that three posters were presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2024 Annual Meeting taking place April 13-18, 2024, in Denver, Colorado, USA. Featured presentations described the Company's work in Parkinson's disease and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), including initial biomarker data and baseline characteristics from the ATH434-201 Phase 2 clinical trial.
David Stamler, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alterity, commented, "We are excited to present the Parkinson's disease primate study to an international audience because we have shown that ATH434 can reduce Parkinsonism in a higher order animal with symptoms that closely parallel human disease. Importantly, the improvements in motor skills and general functioning that parallel human parkinsonism were associated with reductions in abnormal iron in affected brain regions, validating the approach we are using in our ongoing clinical trials. The data from this study improve our ability to predict clinical outcomes and increases our confidence level in our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials in Multiple System Atrophy, a parkinsonian disorder with similar underlying pathology to Parkinson's disease."
Dr. Stamler continued, "Through our collaboration with our partners at Vanderbilt University, we have gained a deeper understanding of MSA, and we are now seeing the fruits of this labor in both our bioMUSE natural history study and our Phase 2 clinical trial. At AAN we reported the baseline characteristics from our ATH434-201 Phase 2 trial including fluid biomarkers and neuroimaging data. The data showed increased iron in areas of pathology and elevated plasma Neurofilament Light Chain (NfL) levels at baseline that correlated significantly with disease severity. These data give us confidence in our approach of using ATH434 to target the labile cellular iron known to promote neurodegeneration, inhibit ??synuclein aggregation, and improve outcomes."
Dr. Daniel Claassen, Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and coordinating investigator for the ATH434-201 Phase 2 study, commented, "The specialized neuroimaging and biomarker assessments evaluated and refined in the bioMUSE study were used to select and track patients in the Phase 2 study, making this program unique among current MSA clinical studies. It is vital to select study patients with a high degree of accuracy. The biomarkers being tested in the Alterity program hold promise for assessing the potential disease modifying benefits of ATH434."
Presentation Summaries:
Title: A Phase 2 Study of ATH434, a Novel Inhibitor of ?-Synuclein Aggregation, for the Treatment of Multiple System Atrophy
Lead Author: David Stamler, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alterity Therapeutics
Results: The poster describes the baseline characteristics for the 65 evaluable participants from Alterity's ATH434-201 randomized, double-blind Phase 2 clinical trial, with a focus on baseline fluid biomarkers, neuroimaging and clinical data. The participants met the strict criteria designed to confirm that participants were diagnosed with early-stage MSA and had a mean of two years of motor symptoms. ATH434 is a potential disease modifying therapy based on its ability to redistribute excess labile iron without impairing normal iron storage, inhibit ??synuclein aggregation and reduce oxidative stress. Importantly, the increased iron levels in the trial participants were evident in multiple subcortical brain regions with two distinct patterns of iron accumulations observed. In addition, MSA participants with less than four years of motor symptoms have elevated plasma Neurofilament Light Chain (NfL) levels at baseline which correlate significantly with disease severity.
Title: Neurofilament Light Chain and Clinical Progression in Early Multiple System Atrophy
Lead Author: Daniel O. Claassen, M.D., M.S., Professor of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Results: The poster describes results from the bioMUSE Natural History Study in which changes in clinical severity of 15 patients across a span of 12 months were compared with plasma biomarkers with a goal ...