Sierra Natl BK Tehachapi Calif (MM) (NASDAQ:SIRT)
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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 such as Type 2 Diabetes, announced today that it
obtained exclusive, worldwide rights from Robarts Research Institute
(London, Ontario, Canada) for NamPRT (also known as Visfatin), an
important genetic driver of cellular stress resistance and longevity in
mammals.
The cellular longevity and stress resistance pathway in lower organisms
is naturally triggered by the genetic switch PNC1. In mammals this
process is evolutionarily conserved, and researchers have demonstrated
that NamPRT serves the same role in mammalian cells. When cells are
impacted by calories restriction, this genetic trigger activates members
of the sirtuin family of enzymes involved in cell survival.
In research relating to atherosclerosis and cellular aging, cardiologist
Dr. Geoffrey Pickering of Robarts showed that the introduction of the
NamPRT gene into aging human vascular smooth muscle cells delayed their
deterioration and substantially lengthened cell lifespan. Importantly,
this NamPRT response is associated with increased activity of SIRT1, a
member of the sirtuin family of enzymes that the body uses to regulate
glucose and insulin, fat metabolism, cell survival, and the aging
process.
“If we can keep blood vessels functioning well
by halting or slowing their aging,” said Dr.
Pickering, “we should be able to improve the
quality and length of life of individuals suffering from aging-related
diseases.”
“In-licensing the exclusive rights to these
patents is part of our overall strategy to build the broadest platform
of technology and intellectual property for the development of sirtuin
therapeutics for the treatment of diseases of aging," said Karl
Normington, PhD, Senior Director of Intellectual Property and Licensing,
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. “This intellectual
property expands our existing portfolio around the NAD pathway,
including nicotinamide and nicotinamide riboside, as well as other genes
known to regulate intracellular NAD levels.”
"We believe our internal efforts, combined with access to technology
from premier research institutions such as Harvard University,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Robarts Research Institute,
will continue to keep Sirtris at the forefront of the sirtuin
therapeutics field," said Christoph Westphal, MD, PhD, Chief Executive
Officer and Vice Chair of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals.
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.
About Robarts Research Institute
Robarts is a medical research institute located in the Schulich School
of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario. Robarts
scientists are physicists and physicians, biologists and biomedical
engineers – all working to better understand,
treat, and ultimately prevent a range of debilitating diseases such as
Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
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; the progress and results of pre-clinical
and clinical studies of SIRT1 activators; the strength of the Company's
intellectual property estate; the Company’s
position in the sirtuin therapeutics field; 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.