WRAIR and Arbor Vita sign CRADA for traumatic brain injury

The alliance is based on discoveries from a collaboration between Arbor Vita (AVC) and NoNO of Toronto, and will explore the use of the companies’ NA-1 compound as a novel neuroprotective agent for severe brain injury of soldiers and civilians injured in explosions such as roadside bombs.

NA-1 is an investigational compound that targets a PDZ protein and is in clinical trials for the treatment of stroke.

Under the terms of the co-operative R&D agreement (CRADA), Arbor Vita will supply the clinical materials of NA-1 along with supporting preclinical and human clinical research data. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) will conduct a dose-response study to establish proof of efficacy in a variety of brain injury models and, if successful, conduct additional studies in support of Phase II human clinical trials.

The CRADA between the WRAIR and Arbor Vita represents a collaborative effort employing preclinical research platforms and drug development strategies that may yield a therapeutic agent ready for human clinical trial assessment.

It is reported that the combined research approach of WRAIR brain trauma scientists and neuroprotection experts and the neuroscience research teams of AVC and NoNO will provide a unique opportunity for conducting advanced preclinical neuroprotection research in a model of brain injury that mimics some types of battlefield injuries. The ultimate goal of the program is the advanced development of a novel therapy for the acute treatment of brain injury.