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news.Pipex Pharmaceuticals has entered into a cooperative R&D agreement with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor to evaluate Coprexa, its lead anti-copper drug candidate, in preclinical studies as a treatment for Huntington's disease.
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Huntington’s disease is a genetic neurodegenerative disease characterized by movement disorder, dementia and psychiatric disturbance.
Steve Kanzer, chairman and CEO of Pipex, said: “Given the selective nature of Coprexa to reduce free copper levels and its recently demonstrated ability to reduce insoluble amyloid-beta by 40% in a murine Alzheimer’s disease model, coupled with our recent results demonstrating elevated levels of ‘free’ copper in the serum of Alzheimer’s disease patients, this co-operative R&D agreement underscores our commitment to exploring the potential role that elevated CNS copper may play in other serious life-threatening diseases in which elevated CNS copper is suspected, such as Huntington’s disease.”
Roger Albin, professor of neurology at the University of Michigan and lead investigator on the R&D agreement at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said: “The scientific rationale for evaluating Coprexa is strong and it is exciting to evaluate a compound which we know is tolerated well in patients with neurodegenerative disease.”