Sierra Natl BK Tehachapi Calif (MM) (NASDAQ:SIRT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2019 to Jul 2024
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRT), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to
treat diseases of aging, announced today that drug candidate SRT501,
when orally administered, suppressed neurological dysfunction in a
preclinical model of multiple sclerosis. Kenneth Shindler, MD, PhD,
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania
Scheie Eye Institute and lead investigator, will present the data today
at the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society annual meeting.
The new data builds on earlier work by Dr. Shindler in the same
preclinical model showing that activation of the SIRT1 enzyme with
SRT501 is neuroprotective for optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic
nerve that can cause a complete or partial loss of vision) by reducing
the loss of retinal ganglion cells. Optic neuritis is common in patients
with multiple sclerosis and can be an early warning sign for the
disease. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Senior Vice Present for Development,
Peter Elliott, PhD, was a co-author of this work published in the August
2007 issue of Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science.
In the new work, Dr. Shindler’s team used mice
with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which causes the
autoimmune system to attack the eye and central nervous system. These
effects on the central nervous system mirror symptoms observed in
patients with multiple sclerosis.
The mice were observed for clinical signs of EAE, measured by the
strength and duration of tail and limb paralysis. Mice were given daily
oral doses of SRT501 at 1000 mg/kg beginning at day 10 through day 14,
the peak day of the autoimmune system attack. The paralysis scores of
the treated mice improved more completely than the untreated mice
following the first clinical episode of EAE.
“We have previously established that we can
reduce the loss of retinal ganglion cells during acute optic neuritis in
EAE mice with SRT501 when injected into the vitreous layer of the eye,”
said Dr. Shindler. “This work shows oral
SRT501 exerts similar effects in optic neuritis and leads to suppression
of observed dysfunction in the first clinical episode of EAE, suggesting
added neuroprotective benefits of SIRT1 activation.”
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 the
Company believes 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 diseases of aging, such as Type 2
Diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer; 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.