ProMIS Neurosciences’ Alzheimer’s disease program takes on renewed significance following positive aducanumab news

New white paper outlines the opportunity for next-generation drug candidates with greater selectivity for toxic amyloid beta oligomers

TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 10, 2019 (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 issued a white paper entitled “Aducanumab’s milestone achievement for the Alzheimer’s disease community:  A ProMIS perspective from CTAD 2019.”

The white paper describes the intensified significance of ProMIS’ next-generation therapy candidate for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) following positive consensus for Biogen’s additional phase 3 clinical trial data for aducanumab. While positive overall, the Biogen data reinforce the vast compendium of scientific data suggesting the need for a drug candidate with improved selectivity for amyloid beta oligomers (AßO) in order to achieve a better safety and efficacy profile. Preclinical data for PMN310, demonstrating a high degree of binding to toxic oligomers without binding to non-toxic forms of amyloid beta, affirm its potential as a next-generation candidate.

On December 5, a panel of distinguished scientific experts, including Dr Sharon Cohen, Toronto Memory Program Medical Director and ProMIS Scientific Advisory Board member, supported Biogen’s data analysis for aducanumab, indicating that the outcome data presented at the CTAD meeting are clinically meaningful and aducanumab could represent the first treatment that targets the core pathology of AD. Following the event, several key opinion leaders concurred that this milestone event opens the door for improved antibody therapeutics that will advance the initial success of aducanumab’s groundbreaking work in validating the amyloid hypothesis.

Aducanumab is partially selective for misfolded beta amyloid oligomers (AßO), considered to be the most toxic form of the protein, and the Biogen data support the need for next-generation therapy candidates that offer improved selectivity. These data were released at the 12th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD), which took place December 4-7, 2019 in San Diego.

“Biogen is doing the hard work and succeeding,” said Eugene Williams, executive chairman of ProMIS Neurosciences. “We agree with many who believe aducanumab is likely to be approved by regulatory authorities. We also agree that aducanumab will pave the way for better, safer second-generation therapies with precision selectivity for the toxic oligomer. As PMN310 demonstrates this level of selectivity, we believe continued aducanumab milestones will only advance its significance.”

Additional data presented by Eisai and BioArtic on their joint BAN2401 program also validated the neurotoxic role of AßOs in Alzheimer’s disease. New data indicated that BAN2401 shows stronger binding to toxic oligomers than aducanumab. However, because BAN2401 also binds amyloid plaque, it too is associated with ARIA-E - or brain swelling - the key side effect of concern with aducanumab and past anti-amyloid antibodies that bind plaque.

About PMN310
PMN310 is a next generation drug candidate that offers more precise selectivity for AßOs, which is expected to provide greater clinical benefit and safety. Created using a novel drug discovery and development platform that can uniquely and precisely target the toxic forms of otherwise normal protein, PMN310 demonstrates a high degree of binding to toxic oligomers without binding to non-toxic forms of amyloid beta. Preclinical data also demonstrate PMN310’s greater potency versus other Aß-directed antibodies. For more information about PMN310, please visit www.promisneurosciences.com.

Readers can directly access the new white paper by clicking on the following link:  http://bit.ly/ProMIS120919Logo
To learn more about the search for therapies for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, listen to Saving Minds, at iTunes or Spotify.

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.

Visit us at www.promisneurosciences.com, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Released December 10, 2019