Oligomerix Awarded $3.35M from NIH to Support Clinical Development of Tau-Targeting Alzheimer’s Disease Therapy

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OLIGOMERIX Inc., a privately held company pioneering the development of small molecule therapeutics targeting tau for rare neurodegenerative and Alzheimer’s diseases, today announced an award of $3.35 million from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health to support clinical development of its lead program OLX-07010, an oral tau self-association small molecule inhibitor. Oligomerix plans to begin a Phase 1a clinical trial in healthy volunteers in 2022.

“Key requirements for treating early-stage AD include safe, efficacious, and cost-effective therapeutic interventions. Based on our preliminary results, this oral small molecule, CNS drug-like lead significantly fulfills these requirements,” said James Moe, Ph.D., MBA, CEO and Head of Discovery at Oligomerix. “OLX-07010 is a highly differentiated tau self-association inhibitor targeting the beginning of the tau aggregation cascade. We look forward to potentially bringing a new treatment option to the millions of patients suffering from AD and other neurodegenerative diseases.”

The prevalence of AD is increasing worldwide. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 6.5 million Americans suffer from AD. By 2050, this number will increase drastically to 12.7 million. Furthermore, the current cost for AD is $321 billion and projected to be $1 trillion by 2050. OLX-07010 would potentially fill a significant unmet need with a disease-modifying drug that, if successful, will have a tremendous impact on patient outcomes and reduce the burden on caregivers and society.

“Our NIH R01 grant will support a Phase 1a double-blind, randomized, three-part study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of OLX-07010 in single ascending doses, multiple ascending doses, and a single dose in healthy elderly,” said William Erhardt, M.D., President and Head of Development at Oligomerix and Principal Investigator for the grant. “These studies will enable the determination of dosing for subsequent proof-of-concept studies in AD and other neurodegenerative diseases for our lead program, and we are extremely excited to be supported by the NIH/NIA with this funding in order to potentially bring a transformative therapy to patients in need.”

Recently, Oligomerix announced a Series B extension raise of $2.7 million to support additional preclinical and clinical development for the tau self-association inhibitor portfolio and its corporate reorganization that better meets the needs of the company as it transitions into clinical development and first-in-human testing.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG076565. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About Oligomerix’s Lead Program

Oligomerix’s lead clinical candidate is an oral, small molecule inhibitor of tau self-association that targets the beginning of the tau aggregation cascade, a process thought to be important in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The lead candidate has demonstrated efficacy in multiple animal models of tau-mediated neurodegeneration. Preclinical safety studies are completed and Phase 1a clinical studies are planned to initiate this year.

About Oligomerix, Inc.

Oligomerix is an emerging clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing disease-modifying therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases characterized by aberrant tau protein ranging from rare tauopathies such as progressive supranuclear palsy and frontotemporal dementia to Alzheimer’s disease.

Oligomerix discovers and develops differentiated, oral, small molecule inhibitors of tau self-association that are potentially easy to administer and cost effective. Oligomerix’s portfolio of compounds is expected to provide a potentially lower-cost treatment alternative and/or complement to the newly emerging high-cost therapeutic options such as the monoclonal antibody products.

Oligomerix is headquartered at the Westchester Park Center in White Plains, New York and has lab facilities at the Ullmann Research Center for Health Sciences within the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Follow Oligomerix on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Oligomerix is seeking strategic partners and investors to support the acceleration and advancement of these important programs. For more information about Oligomerix, please visit our website at https://oligomerix.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220809005428/en/