Bio2002 Toronto, Canada and Jerusalem, Israel

Mindset BioPharmaceuticals (USA) Inc., announced today that New York University School of Medicine and the University of South Alabama have been issued a U.S. patent relating to OXIGON®, the Company's industry-leading product for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The patent, issued May 28, 2002 as US 6,395,768, covers the use of indole-3-propionic acid compounds to inhibit the deposition of toxic amyloid fibrils that lead to Alzheimer’s disease as well as prevent damage from oxidative stress. Mindset is the worldwide exclusive licensee of this platform patent.

OXIGON® is currently in preclinical development and is scheduled to enter clinical development early next year. OXIGON® was selected for a sequent clinical trial by the prestigious Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS). The ADCS is a consortium of leading clinical investigators chartered by the National Institute of Aging in the United States to conduct clinical trials for promising new Alzheimer’s therapies. The ADCS plans to sponsor the first trial in Alzheimer’s patients with OXIGON®.

The preclinical development of OXIGON® is also supported by grants from the National Institute of Aging and from the Institute for the Study of Aging, a private philanthropic organization in New York whose mission is to catalyze and fund drug discovery and development for the prevention and treatment of cognitive aging, Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (www.aging-institute.org).

"The US patent reinforces our leadership in developing innovative therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease by providing strong protection for our core technology platform. Innovative therapies based on this technology could exert strong therapeutic effects through a unique dual mode of action that targets key mechanisms in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease as well as other major diseases including Parkinson’s disease, motor neuron disease and stroke," said Dr. Daniel Chain, President and CEO of Mindset BioPharmaceuticals.  

About Mindset

Mindset BioPharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. is a privately-held biotechnology company with a Jerusalem based subsidiary carrying out research and development. Mindset is lead by a world-class scientific team and is backed by two leading investment groups, MPM Capital and Clal Biotechnology Industries.

Mindset is emerging as an innovative leader in developing new therapeutic products for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.  The company has two major therapeutic programs: a unique small molecule pharmacological approach, which targets two key mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and an immunotherapeutic program based on immunizing patients against the harmful affects of Alzheimer’s toxin, the so-called amyloid protein.

Mindset also has developed a unique platform for lead drug candidate selection and optimization using transgenic mouse models to study drugs effects in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders including cognitive impairment. MindGenix Inc., a subsidiary of Mindset based in Albany, NY, offers contract research in the transgenic models. 

About Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neuro-degenerative disorder affecting approximately 8 million Europeans and Americans and the number is expected to rise dramatically with an increasing elderly population. With symptoms ranging from forgetfulness to language difficulties, from changes in mood and personality to loss of insight culminating in the destruction of brain cells, this devastating condition is one of the leading causes of death in the western world.

Drugs currently available for the treatment of the disease appear to affect symptoms of the disease, rather than the underlying pathogenesis. There is an urgent need to rethink the goals of Alzheimer’s disease treatment and to create drugs that will not only alleviate cognitive problems associated with the malady’s early stages, but more importantly, slow progression and even prevent the disease altogether. Mindset is poised to meet the therapeutic challenge created by the steadily rising prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders.

For more information during the Bio2002 conference:

Dr. Daniel Chain, CEO, can be reached at:
Tel: + 972 54 783 940
Or by e-mail at dchain@mindset.co.il

Contact Details:

Mindset BioPharmaceuticals
5 Kiryat Hamada Street
Har Hotzvim
Jerusalem 91450
Israel
Tel: 972 2 541 2727
Fax: 972 2 541 2726
E-mail:info@mindset.co.il
Website: www.mindset.co.il