“We are very grateful and appreciative for ADDF’s support,” reported Dr. Joel Braunstein, managing member of C2N. “Beginning in 2008, ADDF provided funding to us at a vital time in the company’s history. They made it possible for us to validate and optimize certain steps of the assay. Leaders within the pharmaceutical industry are now incorporating our SILK-Aß assay into their clinical development programs. In part through our work with ADDF, we can be confident that we have a robust assay to provide to industry partners.”
C2N’s SILK-Aß assay relies on stable isotope labeling and tandem mass spectrometry for the measurement of the kinetics, or in vivo metabolism, of amyloid-beta, a small peptide implicated as a key mediator of Alzheimer’s disease. The assay has potential to provide unparalleled sensitivity in clinical trials for evaluating the impact of disease-modifying drugs on neurally-derived Aß. Further, it can answer previously unanswerable scientific questions about the role of Aß and other proteins in the disease process.
Dr. Randall Bateman, one of C2N’s scientific co-founders and co-inventors of the platform technology, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri added: “The ADDF is a pioneer in supporting the translational activities of investigators and emerging companies focused on new ways to fight Alzheimer’s disease. I expect C2N to return to the field techniques that will enable more accurate and rapid development of therapies to counter Alzheimer’s disease.”
Dr. Howard Fillit, executive director of ADDF, stated: “C2N’s technology will have an important impact on Alzheimer’s disease drug development. For the first time, it is possible to measure, in vivo in the human brain, the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic effect of drugs on the metabolism of proteins relevant to Alzheimer’s disease, such as beta-amyloid. C2N’s technology will have wide applications on other target proteins and in other neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system. We are pleased that C2N clearly delivered on their funded milestones.”
