Resveratrol Studies Suggest Broad Implications for SIRT1 Activation in Neurodegenerative Eye Disorders

  
    
  
  
    
      Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRT), a biopharmaceutical 
      company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to 
      treat diseases of aging, announced today that activation of SIRT1, a 
      member of the sirtuin family of enzymes, was shown to be neuroprotective 
      in an animal model of optic neuritis. These findings appear in an 
      article published in Volume 48, Number 8 of The Investigative 
      Ophthalmology and Visual Science Journal (IOVS), Shindler et al., 
      2007 entitled “SIRT1 Activation Confers 
      Neuroprotection in Experimental Optic Neuritis.”
    
    
      The progressive loss of neurons with age may underlie a variety of 
      debilitating neurological disorders including optic neuritis, one of the 
      first signs of multiple sclerosis, which has been associated with 
      reduced mitochondrial function. Sirtuins are a recently discovered class 
      of enzymes that appear to affect the aging process in mammals and 
      increase the number and function of mitochondria.
    
    
      According to the findings in this paper, resveratrol, a SIRT1 activator 
      reduced the loss of retinal ganglion cells and preserved axonal function 
      in a pre-clinical model of optic neuritis. A single intravitreal dose of 
      SRT501, Sirtris’ proprietary formulation of 
      resveratrol, was sufficient for neuroprotection. Furthermore, this 
      neuroprotective effect was shown to be SIRT1 dependent because it was 
      blocked by sirtinol, a SIRT1 inhibitor.
    
    
      The authors of the IOVS article include Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, 
      Inc. Senior Vice President, Head of Development, Peter Elliott, Ph.D. 
      and Sirtris Scientific Advisory Board member, Kenneth Shindler, M.D., 
      F.M. Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology, Department of 
      Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania Scheie Eye Institute, 
      Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    
    
      “This work is significant because it shows 
      that a SIRT1 activator is neuroprotective and thus has the potential to 
      be therapeutic for a range of neurodegenerative diseases of aging,” 
      said Peter Elliott, Ph.D.
    
    
      Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Sirtris 
      Pharmaceuticals, Inc. added, “These new data 
      support our belief in SIRT1 as a therapeutic target for a broad range of 
      diseases of aging including metabolic, mitochondrial, and neurological 
      disorders.”
    
    
      Online copies of the article can be obtained at: http://www.iovs.org
    
    
      About Sirtris Pharmaceuticals
    
    
      Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on 
      discovering and developing proprietary, orally available, small molecule 
      drugs with the potential to treat diseases associated with aging, 
      including metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes. Our drug 
      candidates are designed to mimic certain beneficial health effects of 
      calorie restriction, without requiring a change in eating habits, by 
      activation of sirtuins, a recently discovered class of enzymes that 
      control the aging process. The company's headquarters are in Cambridge, 
      Massachusetts.
    
    
      This press release contains forward-looking statements within the 
      meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such 
      statements include, but are not limited to, the potential therapeutic 
      effects of SIRT1 activators for multiple neurodegenerative diseases and 
      other types of disorders, the progress and results of pre-clinical 
      studies of SIRT1 activators, and the potential of sirtuin modulators to 
      receive regulatory approval. These forward-looking statements about 
      future expectations, plans and prospects of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals 
      involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including 
      risks related to the lack of results that would provide a basis for 
      predicting whether any of the Company’s 
      product candidates will be safe or effective, or receive regulatory 
      approval, the possibility that results of pre-clinical studies are not 
      necessarily predictive of clinical trial results, the Company's 
      potential inability to initiate and complete pre-clinical studies and 
      clinical trials for its product candidates, the fact that none of the 
      Company's product candidates has received regulatory approvals, the 
      potential inability of the Company to gain market acceptance of the 
      Company's product candidates, and those other risks factors that can be 
      found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange 
      Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those Sirtris 
      Pharmaceuticals contemplated by these forward-looking statements. 
      Sirtris Pharmaceuticals does not undertake to update any of these 
      forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or 
      circumstances that occur after the date of this release.