Journal of the American Academy of Neurology Publishes ProMIS Neurosciences’ Abstracts on Novel Antibody Candidates

Data showing precision selectivity for neurotoxic TDP-43 and alpha-synuclein publishes in Neurology®

TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. (TSX: PMN) (OTCQB: ARFXF), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of antibody therapeutics targeting toxic oligomers of proteins implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that the journal Neurology will publish AAN abstracts of data that demonstrate the strength of its antibody programs for Parkinson’s disease/alpha-synuclein (a-syn) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/TDP-43. The data will appear in the April 14 online supplement to Neurology, the most widely read, highly cited peer-reviewed neurology journal.

Publication in Neurology closely follows the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference^® (AAIC^®) acceptance of several abstracts for its annual conference. Both acceptances highlight the unique ability of ProMIS’ drug discovery and development platform to create antibodies selective for both the site and shape (conformation) of novel targets predicted to become exposed on toxic protein aggregates only, not on healthy forms. The data published in Neurology focus on a-syn and TDP-43, two proteins that form misfolded pathogenic aggregates within neurons, making them tractable targets for intrabodies (i.e., antibodies delivered inside a cell) via gene therapy vectors. This vectorization approach can deliver antibodies directly into affected cells of the central nervous system, which can more effectively stop the toxicity and spread of pathogenic proteins.

“These recent series of reports underscore the strength of our drug discovery and development platform, which we can tailor to the particular biology of any misfolding protein, to predict new targets and generate antibodies that are highly selective for these targets,” said Dr. Neil Cashman. “The advantage of this approach, as opposed to the pan-reactive, non-selective nature of most antibodies in development, is that we can preserve normal protein function and minimize the diversion of active antibody from the target. In particular, this unique ability is essential to ensure the safety of gene therapy approaches where antibodies are delivered inside neurons to clear pathogenic aggregates but must not interfere with normal protein.”

The abstract, “Achieving an optimal profile for immunotherapy of alpha-synucleinopathies: Rational generation of monoclonal antibodies selective for pathogenic forms of alpha-synuclein,” demonstrates the success of the ProMIS discovery platform in identifying disease-associated targets and generating antibodies against the toxic species of a-syn while preserving the healthy protein. The misfolded form of a-syn is implicated in the development of Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA).

ProMIS Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Neil Cashman directed the research published in the abstract, “Generation of Antibodies Selective for Misfolded Disease-Associated TDP-43,” which demonstrates again the unique ability of the ProMIS platform to predict new targets on misfolded proteins and develop antibodies highly specific for these targets. This abstract reveals a family of antibodies reactive with a defined region of TDP-43 that becomes exposed on misfolded/aggregated, disease-associated TDP-43 but not on the properly folded healthy protein. Pathogenic TDP-43 is a recognized driver of ALS and frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD).

The data were accepted for the American Academy of Neurology’s 2020 Annual Meeting, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Conference abstracts are available now through the AAN abstracts online website. The online supplement to Neurology will be available on April 14 at http://www.neurology.org/.

About ProMIS Neurosciences
ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. is a development stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing antibody therapeutics selectively targeting toxic oligomers of proteins implicated in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). The Company’s proprietary target discovery platform is based on the use of two complementary thermodynamic, computational discovery engines - ProMIS and Collective Coordinates - to predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique precision approach, the Company is developing novel antibody therapeutics for AD, ALS and PD. ProMIS is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ProMIS is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PMN, and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol ARFXF.

To learn more, visit us at www.promisneurosciences.com, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and listen to the podcast, Saving Minds, at iTunes or Spotify.

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Released April 9, 2020