Business
BELLUS Health Announces Partnership for the Development of BLU8499
- Asclepios Bioresearch to fund Phase IIa study in Alzheimer's disease - LAVAL, QC, S...
About this update from Bluenergies Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n- Asclepios Bioresearch to fund Phase IIa study in Alzheimer's disease -\n\n\nLAVAL, QC, Sept. 4, 2012 /CNW/ - BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX: BLU) (\"BELLUS\n Health\" or the \"Company\") today announced that it has entered into a\n partnership with Asclepios Bioresearch (UK) Limited (\"Asclepios\") for\n the clinical development of BLU8499 (formerly named NRM8499), BELLUS\n Health's drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Under\n the terms of the agreement, Asclepios will fund all Phase IIa enabling\n activities immediately and has committed to a second tranche of\n additional capital for the conduct of a Phase IIa clinical trial in\n mild Alzheimer's disease patients. The total investment and commitment\n by Asclepios towards the development of BLU8499 is at least US $4\n million.\n\n\n\"We are very happy to be working with Asclepios Bioresearch to pursue\n the development of BLU8499 into a proof of concept study,\" said Roberto\n Bellini, President and Chief Executive Officer of BELLUS Health. \"This\n collaboration allows us to use non-dilutive capital while retaining\n significant upside for our shareholders.\"\n\n\n\"Alzheimer's is a devastating disease that affects both patients and\n their families,\" said Simon Conder, Director of Asclepios. \"We are\n excited to partner with the team at BELLUS Health to advance BLU8499\n into a Phase IIa study and hope that this compound will make a\n difference in the lives of those affected by this condition.\"\n\n\nThe Phase IIa study is expected to be initiated in the second half of\n 2013. The trial will focus exclusively on Alzheimer's disease patients\n with an apoE4 positive genotype, which is the subgroup where the\n greatest level of treatment effect was seen in a previous Phase III\n study conducted with tramiprosate, the parent compound of BLU8499.\n\n\nBELLUS Health will form a joint steering committee with Asclepios to\n oversee the program's development efforts. Under the terms of the\n agreement, BELLUS Health will earn study management fees equal to 15%\n of the capital invested by Asclepios over the life of the partnership.\n According to the agreement, it is expected that the two parties will\n share the overall proceeds from the future monetization of BLU8499\n approximately equally.\n\n\nAbout BLU8499\nFormerly named NRM8499, BLU8499 is a pro...