ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that numerous antibodies against two new targets in neurodegenerative diseases have entered the final stage of discovery. These antibody candidates target the aggregated, toxic oligomers of alpha-synuclein, implicated in the development of Parkinson’s disease as well as TDP43 (TAR DNA binding protein), implicated in the development of ALS.

“ProMIS’ proprietary discovery platform consists of two stages” according to Dr. Neil Cashman, ProMIS Chief Scientific Officer. “The first stage involves predicting novel epitope targets and using these to generate large numbers of candidate antibodies. The second stage is to validate selectivity, functional activity, and select the best leads. We are very pleased with our progress so far in identifying epitopes displayed by the two additional toxic oligomers that are the root cause of these devastating diseases and are moving into the validation and selection phase with these targets.” 

Hundreds of monoclonal antibodies have been generated against these predicted disease-specific epitopes and ProMIS has now begun the validation and prioritization process to select therapeutic candidates displaying an ideal, highly selective product profile against these targets.

“The outstanding efficiency of our unique discovery platform is exemplified by the success of our lead Alzheimer’s disease program which led to the rapid identification and validation of PMN310, our therapeutic antibody candidate that is selective for toxic oligomers of amyloid beta, a root cause of AD,” said Johanne Kaplan, ProMIS Chief Development Officer. “We are applying a similar, rigorous evaluation process to the numerous antibody candidates against toxic oligomers of alpha-synuclein and TDP43 and anticipate generating the scientific data required to select the best lead(s) over the coming months.”

“This progress exemplifies the power of our unique discovery platform and will help us carry out the corporate strategy we have articulated,” said Gene Williams, ProMIS Executive Chairman. “We are actively pursuing discussions with large pharma regarding partnering of these two new toxic oligomer programs.”

Native TDP43 is normally found in the nucleus of all cells, including nerve cells. In ALS, misfolded, TDP43 aggregates (oligomers) mislocalize to the cytoplasm of the neuron where their presence correlates with cell death. These toxic forms of TDP43 can also propagate from nerve cell to nerve cell in prion-like fashion.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons located in the midbrain and the presence of neuronal inclusions (Lewy bodies/Lewy neurites) consisting mainly of aggregates of alpha-synuclein. Recent evidence suggests that alpha-synuclein toxicity resides primarily with the oligomeric form and not monomers or insoluble fibrils. Aggregated, toxic alpha-synuclein can also propagate in a prion-like manner.

About ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.

ProMIS Neurosciences is a development stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing precision medicine therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). The Company’s proprietary target discovery engine is based on the use of two complementary techniques. The Company applies its thermodynamic, computational discovery platform—ProMIS™ and Collective Coordinates — to predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes (DSEs) on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique precision medicine approach, the Company is developing novel antibody therapeutics for AD, ALS and PD.  ProMIS is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.