Project description
Fighting Alzheimer's using the natural immunotherapeutic potential of brain cells
Alzheimer's disease is caused by multiple detrimental factors leading to cognitive decline. Currently, no effective treatment exists for this disease, as targeting any single factor could not stop or reverse the disease, as evident in the multiple failures seen in recent clinical trials. The EU-funded ADAMtx project aims to develop a novel approach for comprehensive treatment. Previously, project members had discovered immuno-competent brain microglia cells (disease associated microglia) that specifically fight neurodegenerative diseases. In the current project, researchers will develop several different targets that stimulate activity in these microglia cells. The ultimate goal of the team is to establish intellectual property and take on the development of the targets by involving venture capitalists and establishing a start-up company.
Objective
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a heterogeneous disease in which multiple detrimental factors contribute to cognitive loss and disease escalation. Currently there are no effective therapies for AD. Targeting any single symptom of disease-escalating factor (e.g. amyloid beta, tau, neuroinflammation etc.), even if successful, is not sufficient to modify the disease, as seen in the multiple failures of recent phase-III clinical trials. Thus, there is a desperate need for new approaches for development of AD therapeutics, which will be more comprehensive and not etiology-specific. Using single cell genomic analysis of the immune system in AD mouse models, we discovered a novel microglia type, disease associated microglia (DAM), intrinsic immune cells of the brain that fight AD and neurodegenerative disease. There are several revolutionary aspects to our approach to modify AD course. Fundamentally, based on our unique DAM pathways and target discovery platform we will develop novel AD-immunotherapy for boosting the brain’s innate neuroprotective mechanisms that fight neurodegeneration in AD. Development of targets that boost DAM cells is a major activity of this PoC plan, and we are in different phases of development of several targets that increase DAM activity including advanced stages of the targets Trem2 and P2ry12. The first goal of this PoC grant is to develop and strengthen our IP around AD immunotherapy targets. The second goal is to design a viable and scalable business model with venture capital and establish a startup (ADAMtheraputics) that will translate our novel technology for effective AD-immunotherapy for Alzheimer patients. We believe that our unique approach of targeting the brain’s intrinsic protective immune cells, to boost their activity and numbers, will dramatically impact AD therapy.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-POC-LS - ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum PilotHost institution
7610001 Rehovot
Israel