New Funding for Italian Biotechnology Company Exploring Novel Drugs for Alzheimer’s Disease

The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and Axxam SpA (Axxam) announced today that the ADDF has awarded a follow-on grant to the company to further develop small molecule drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease by targeting inflammation. This grant follows two previous awards by the ADDF to Axxam in 2011 and 2013.

The award will continue to fund a drug discovery project to identify compounds that selectively block the purinergic receptor, P2X7, which is involved in inflammation in the brain.  Research activities under the previous grants have identified a new class of promising P2X7 selective antagonists that are currently under full expansion as well as lead compounds suitable for in vivo assessment in pharmacological models.

“Compounds that potently and selectively block P2X7 may treat brain inflammation and can potentially be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases,” said Howard Fillit, MD, Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer, ADDF.  “P2X7 is an unexplored target for this indication and we are excited to fund the program and investigate its therapeutic potential.”

“We are very pleased to obtain continuing support from the ADDF with this peer-reviewed grant, which recognizes the quality of our research capabilities in the challenging field of neuroinflammation and our ability to deliver what was promised,” said Stefan Lohmer, co-founder and CEO of Axxam.  “We are looking forward to continuing to work with the ADDF team and further move our Alzheimer’s disease program forward.”

About Axxam SpA 

Axxam is a privately owned contract research and discovery company located at the Science Park OpenZone in Bresso (Milan, Italy).  The company hasa proven track record of success as a third-party research and discovery services provider for the life science industry.  In addition, Axxam conducts several discovery programs for selected targets which are carried out in partnership with other companies or nonprofit organizations.