A new class of compounds discovered by investigators at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center that could treat a range of neurodegenerative disorders has caught the eye of Google's ($GOOG) new biotechnology venture Calico.
In a licensing agreement, Calico is acquiring the compounds--dubbed P7C3--from Dallas-based 2M, which previously had rights to the program. Calico plans to develop and potentially commercialize the compounds, which have shown to be effective in animal models of age-related neurocognitive impairment, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and depression.
Calico, which is focused on uncovering biological processes and developing therapies that govern the human lifespan, says it will support research operations in Dallas and elsewhere to develop the compounds.
Discovered by current UT Southwestern researchers Drs. Steven McKnight and Joseph Ready and former UT Southwestern faculty member Dr. Andrew Pieper, the P7C3 compounds are designed to promote the growth of new nerve cells in the brain, a process known as neurogenesis. Nerve cell death is a hallmark of many devastating neurological disorders, so reversing this mechanism is key to halting symptoms associated with neurodegenerative diseases.
In a new study published Sept. 11 in the journal Cell Reports, UT Southwestern researchers show that a group of compounds, called the P7C3 series, blocks axon damage and preserves normal brain function following blast-mediated traumatic brain injury, or TBI, a condition that's becoming more common among men and women who serve in the military. Damage to the axons--the tendril-like fibers that sprout from neurons and form the connections called synapses--occurs in a range of neurodegenerative diseases.
The study details how P7C3 works--by activating a cellular enzyme involved in energy metabolism, known as NAMPT, which is critical to the proper functioning and survival of cells.
TBI has been linked to many neurological complications, including cognitive and motor decline, as well as psychiatric symptoms like anxiety and depression, and brain tissue abnormalities that resemble Alzheimer's disease.
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- read the press release from UT Southwestern
- see the study abstract in Cell Reports