ProMIS Neurosciences Appoints Dr. José Luis Molinuevo to its Scientific Advisory Board

Leader in clinical research for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other misfolded protein diseases joins advisory board of global leaders in neurodegenerative diseases

TORONTO, Ontario and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 15, 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 implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, has welcomed José Luis Molinuevo, MD, PhD,  to its scientific advisory board (SAB). Dr. Molinuevo is an internationally recognized neurologist, researcher, professor, principal investigator and clinician focused on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related disorders, including other protein misfolding diseases such as Parkinson’s.

Dr. Molinuevo is the Scientific Director of the Alzheimer Prevention Program at the BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center (BBRC) in Barcelona, Spain, which focuses on Alzheimer’s disease prevention from a clinical, cognitive, genetic, and biomarker perspective. He is an associate professor at the University Pompeu Fabra, member of several professional societies governing neurodegenerative diseases, principal investigator of multiple clinical trials and research studies on AD and author of more than 330 international scientific papers, several books and over 20 book chapters on neurodegenerative diseases. He received his MD from the University of Valencia and his PhD in neurology from the University of Barcelona.

“Dr. Molinuevo’s research contributions to Alzheimer’s and other protein misfolding diseases has strengthened our understanding of toxicity in the brain,” said Eugene Williams, Executive Chairman of ProMIS Neurosciences. “He’s a beacon among the community of researchers who believe the revised amyloid hypothesis – which zeroes in on the toxic oligomer of beta amyloid as the driver of brain cell death  – will drive a next generation of beta-amyloid targeting therapies that offer precision selectivity for this toxic target following anticipated regulatory approval for the first-generation candidate, aducanumab. We’re honored to work with such an accomplished, committed SAB, and extend our warmest welcome to Dr. Molinuevo.”  

“This is an incredibly exciting time in Alzheimer’s disease research,” said Dr. José Luis Molinuevo, MD, PhD. “In this decade, we’ll see the first disease modifying therapy for AD followed by better, second generation therapies, validating decades of data showing the toxic role of misfolded amyloid beta in the brain. Protein misfolding is a root cause of several other neurodegenerative diseases, and ProMIS is uniquely able to target only the toxic oligomer of these misfolded species, a previously elusive accomplishment. I’m honored to join such an esteemed group of leaders in neurodegenerative disease as we embark on a decade that I feel will be marked by several disease-modifying therapies for not only Alzheimer’s but a host of other neurodegenerative diseases.”

ProMIS’ SAB members are highly published and cited contributors to current scientific understanding of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, protein misfolding diseases in general and other neurodegenerative diseases. Current members include:

• Neil R. Cashman, MD is Chief Science Officer at ProMIS Neurosciences and Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Neurodegeneration and Protein Misfolding Diseases and serves as the Director of the UBC ALS Centre. Dr. Cashman is recognized as a pioneer in the field of prion-like misfolded proteins and their role in development of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular ALS and AD. Neil Cashman is co-chair of the SAB.

• Sharon Cohen, MD is a trained behavioral neurologist and former speech language pathologist. Her memory clinic and dementia clinical trials program at Toronto Memory Programme are the largest and most active in Canada and have contributed substantially to patient care and to global clinical trial cohorts. Through her commitment to knowledge translation and her passion for clinically meaningful outcomes, Dr. Cohen provides a valuable perspective which places the patient at the center of Alzheimer’s drug development programs.

• Todd E. Golde, MD, PhD is Director of the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of Florida where he directs a robust program of scientific discovery aimed at translating basic discoveries in neurodegenerative disease into diagnostics and treatments for patients. Dr. Golde is co-chair of the SAB.

• William C. Mobley, MD, PhD is Associate Dean for Neurosciences Initiatives, Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences, Florence Riford Chair for Alzheimer Disease at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and the university’s Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment. Dr. Mobley’s research focuses on the neurobiology of neuronal dysfunction in developmental and age-related disorders of the nervous system.

• C. Warren Olanow, MD is the past Henry P. and Georgette Goldschmidt Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and present Professor Emeritus in the Department of Neurology and in the Department of Neuroscience.

• Andre Strydom, MD, PhD is a professor in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, and Honorary Consultant psychiatrist, South London and the Maudsley NHS Trust. His current projects and collaborations include the LonDownS consortium, funded by the Wellcome Trust/ MRC, to study the neurobiology of Alzheimer’s Disease in Down syndrome to understand the underlying factors that may influence variation in age of onset of symptoms. His research in Down syndrome includes investigation of biomarkers of cognitive decline. He has been an investigator on clinical trials of new drug treatment options in Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome and autism.

• Rudolph E. Tanzi, PhD is a neuroscientist and geneticist with scientific expertise in Alzheimer’s disease and brain health. He serves as Vice-Chair of Neurology, Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit, and as a Director of the Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.

• Lary C. Walker, PhD is Associate Professor of Neurology and Research Professor at Emory University Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Dr. Walker’s research has been directed toward understanding the mechanisms by which the Alzheimer-associated proteins amyloid beta and tau form pathogenic assemblies in vivo and how these agents spread in the brain.

About misfolded proteins and the toxic oligomer
Misfolded proteins play a key pathogenic role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Misfolded proteins aggregate, forming small clumps (oligomers) that are both toxic to neurons and responsible for the ‘prion-like’ propagation (spreading) of the neurotoxicity, ultimately leading to clinical symptoms of disease. Using its novel drug discovery engine, ProMIS can uniquely and selectively target the toxic oligomer, filling a critical gap for drug developers: traditional approaches to developing antibodies are unable to isolate and target the toxic oligomer with adequate precision. The company’s Alzheimer’s disease program includes two antibody candidates that offer targeting of the toxic oligomers of tau and amyloid beta, currently one of the most promising areas of therapy development in Alzheimer’s disease. ProMIS’ Parkinson’s disease program includes several potential antibody therapeutic candidates aimed at selectively targeting toxic oligomers of the protein α-synuclein, considered a root cause of Parkinson’s disease. ProMIS has also identified antibody candidates that selectively target toxic oligomers of the protein TDP-43, considered a root cause of ALS.

About ProMIS Neurosciences
ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. is a development stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing antibody therapeutics selectively targeting toxic oligomers 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.

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Released January 15, 2020