SAN DIEGO, Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspen Neuroscience, Inc.today announced its launch following a $6.5 million seed round led by Domain Associates and Axon Ventures and including Alexandria Venture Investments, Arch Venture Partners, OrbiMed and Section 32 to develop the first autologous cell therapies for Parkinson's disease. Aspen's proprietary approach was developed by the company's co-founders, Jeanne F. Loring, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and founding director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute, and Andres Bratt-Leal, Ph.D., a former post-doctoral researcher in Dr. Loring's lab. The company was initially supported by Summit for Stem Cell, a founding partner and non-profit organization which provides a variety of services for people with Parkinson's disease. Aspen is led by industry veteran Howard J. Federoff, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer.

Parkinson's disease is characterized by the loss of specific brain cells that make the chemical dopamine. Without dopamine, nerve cells cannot communicate with muscles and people are left with debilitating motor problems. Aspen is focusing on human pluripotent stem cells, cultured cells that can become any cell type in the human body. The company's research is specific to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which it develops by taking a skin biopsy from a person with Parkinson's disease and turning the tissue into pluripotent stem cells using genetic engineering. Aspen then differentiates the pluripotent stem cells into dopamine-releasing neurons that can be transplanted into that same person (autologous), thereby restoring the types of neurons lost in Parkinson's disease.

As an autologous cell therapy for Parkinson's disease, Aspen's treatment would eliminate the need for immunosuppression because the neurons are transplanted back into the same patient from which they were generated. The use of immunosuppression is necessary with currently available cell therapies for Parkinson's disease and when transplanting cells from one patient to another (allogeneic) to prevent rejection but can pre-dispose the patient to life-threatening complications including infection and add cost to the patient and health system. Aspen is the only company in the world offering an autologous neuron replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease.

Aspen encompasses a powerful executive leadership team including Dr. Federoff who, in addition to his leadership roles at the UC Irvine Health System, was the Executive Vice President for Health Sciences and the Executive Dean of Medicine at Georgetown University. Dr. Federoff also has significant biotech industry experience including co-founding MedGenesis Therapeutix and Brain Neurotherapy Bio, as well as leading the U.S. Parkinson's Disease Gene Therapy Study Group. The company is also proud to announce the addition of several experienced and well-known members to its leadership team including Edward Wirth, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Wirth currently serves as the Chief Medical Ofcer for Lineage Cell Therapeutics where he oversees clinical development of its two therapeutic programs for spinal cord injuries and lung cancer. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1994 and remained to conduct postdoctoral research including leading the University of Florida team that performed the rst human embryonic spinal cord transplant in the U.S. Dr. Wirth went on to serve as the Medical Director for Regenerative Medicine at Geron Corporation where the world's rst clinical trial of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived product occurred which demonstrated initial clinical safety.

Drs. Federoff and Wirth are joined by Dr. Loring, as Chief Scientific Officer; Jay Sial, as Chief Financial Officer; Andres Bratt-Leal, Ph.D., as Vice President of Research and Development; Thorsten Gorba, Ph.D., as Senior Director of Manufacturing and Naveen M. Krishnan, M.D., M.Phil., as Senior Director of Corporate Development.

"Aspen is developing a restorative, disease modifying autologous neuron therapy for people suffering from Parkinson's disease," said Dr. Federoff. "We are fortunate to have such a high-caliber scientific and medical leadership team to make our treatments a reality. Our cell replacement therapy, which originated in the laboratory of Dr. Jeanne Loring and was later supported by Summit for Stem Cell and its President, Ms. Jenifer Raub, has the potential to release dopamine and reconstruct neural networks where no disease-modifying therapies exist."

Aspen's lead product (ANPD001) is currently undergoing investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies for the treatment of sporadic Parkinson's disease. Aspen is also developing a gene-edited autologous neuron therapy (ANPD002) that is in the research stage and targeted toward familial forms of Parkinson's disease beginning with the most common genetic variant in the gene encoding glucocerebrosidase (GBA). Aspen leverages proprietary machine-learning tools and artificial intelligence to ensure quality control during manufacturing and to deliver a safe and reproducible product for each cell line.

"Aspen's financial backing, combined with its experienced and proven leadership team, positions it well for future success," said Kim P. Kamdar, Ph.D., Partner at Domain Associates, one of Aspen's seed investors. "Domain prides itself on investing in companies that can translate scientific research into innovative medicines and therapies that make a difference in people's lives. We clearly see Aspen as fitting into that category, as it is the only company using a patient's own cells for replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease."

About Aspen Neuroscience

Aspen Neuroscience Inc. is a development stage, private biotechnology company that uses innovative genomic approaches combined with stem cell biology to deliver patient-specific, restorative cell therapies that modify the course of Parkinson's disease. Aspen's therapies are based upon the scientific work of world-renowned stem cell scientist, Dr. Jeanne Loring, who has developed a novel method for autologous neuron replacement. For more information and important updates, please visit http://www.aspenneuroscience.com.

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Aspen Neuroscience Launches With $6.5 Million Seed Funding to Advance First-of-its-Kind Personalized Cell Therapy for Parkinson's Disease - BioSpace

The idea of a cell therapy for Parkinsons disease starts out simple: Symptoms of the progressive disease are largely driven by the deaths of dopamine-producing neurons found deep within the brain. With lower levels of the neurotransmitter come the characteristic tremors, rigidity and slow movements.

By replacing those lost nerve cells with new dopamine producers, researchers hope to renew the brains connection to the bodys muscles and improve a persons overall motor function.

But in the brain, everything becomes more complicated. On top of the risk of immune system rejection that comes with any kind of living tissue transplant, its important to make sure the implanted cells function correctly and do not pick up any dangerous genetic mutations as they grow.

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Now, a new company, Aspen Neuroscience, aims to tackle both obstacles at once.

First, the startup hopes to avoid any harmful immune reactions by using a patients own cells as a starting point. Then, Aspen plans to implement a rigorous quality control program employing whole genome sequencing and artificial intelligence to make sure the cells stay in line as theyre processed and readied for the procedure.

And to do it, the San Diego-based company is starting out with $6.5 million in seed money plus an impressive roster of names.

They are led by neurology researcher Howard Federoff, previously vice chancellor for health affairs and CEO of the University of California, Irvine health system as well as the executive dean of medicine at Georgetown University. Hes joined by Aspen co-founder and stem cell scientist Jeanne Loring, founding director and professor emeritus of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the Scripps Research Institute.

Meanwhile, the seed round was led by Domain Associates and Axon Ventures with additional backing from Alexandria Venture Investments, Arch Venture Partners, OrbiMed and Section 32.

Aspen looks to combine its expertise in stem cell biology, genomics and neurology to offer the first autologous cell therapy for Parkinsons diseasewhile others in the space have pursued allogeneic routes, or therapies derived from donors other than the patient.

The process starts with a culture of the patients skin cells, which are then genetically induced to become pluripotent stem cellsor cells capable of differentiating into any other cell type in the body. These are then chemically nudged further to transform into precursor versions of the dopamine-producing neurons, which are typically found in the midbrain and regions responsible for the movement of limbs.

We can say without any equivocation that we can produce the population of cells necessary to transplant, and in a short enough period of time to have a potential beneficial impact on the evolution of the disease, said Federoff, who has also served as chair of the NIHs Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee and helped lead the U.S. Parkinsons Disease Gene Therapy Study Group.

We envisage that this will set back the clock on patients who have Parkinsons, unlike any other therapy that we know of, he told FierceMedTech in an interview.

The number of cells needed would be much smaller compared to other cell therapies and cancer treatments. The healthy human brain contains only about 200,000 dopamine-producing nerve cells, split between its two hemispheres, while patients with Parkinsons disease have lost about 50% or more of those neurons.

Aspen aims to evaluate two doses: one that aims to replace about 60% to 65% of a persons normal cell complement and another larger treatment, Federoff said.

Those smaller doses, as well as starting with a patients donor cells, help make the treatment safer to produce by requiring fewer steps. Each cycle of cell division and multiplication to increase their numbers carries the risk of introducing genetic mutations.

As the cells are grown, they are consistently evaluated with data-driven techniques pioneered by Lorings laboratory. Using whole genome RNA sequencing, Aspen will match the cells up at every stage with a genetic barcode taken from each patient at the start. This will allow them to look for changes, duplications or deletions in the pluripotent stem cell genome.

If the cells harbor mutations that are cancer drivers, we don't want to put those into people, Loring said. The only way is to check the sequencing before we transplant them.

The cells used in the transplant procedure arent fully grown; as neuron progenitors, they mimic the development steps seen in the brain of a growing fetus after theyre placed in the body as they wire themselves up to other neural structures and begin to form new networks of their own.

We anticipate that they will manufacture and release dopamine in a manner that is consistent with synaptic neurotransmission and the process of communicating from cell-to-cell, said Federoff. They will take up dopamine from synapses when it has done its business, bring it back into the cell, and prepare it for another synaptic release.

These are not just dopamine pumps, theyre real neurons, added Loring. They will genuinely replace the cells that have been lost in every way.

Aspen plans to pursue two courses of therapy, for the two major types of Parkinsons disease. Their lead candidate is for idiopathic, or sporadic Parkinsons, while their second is a CRISPR-edited version of the therapy designed to address one of the diseases most common genetic mutations, linked to about 5% of cases.

This would not only aim to restart dopamine production in this orphan indication, but also restore the damaged enzyme GBA, which is seen as an underlying cause. Federoff and Loring expect their sequencing-based quality check system will also help catch any off-target edits linked to the use of CRISPR-Cas9.

The company has yet to secure permission from the FDA to officially launch clinical trials, but the agency has signed off on Aspens plans to prepare a trial-ready cohort of Parkinsons disease patients in the meantime. This would include the initial stages of recruitment and testing, including the selection of patients capable of having their skin cells made into pluripotent stem cells.

After it receives its go-ahead from the FDA, Aspen plans to hit the ground running,enrolling at least 176 participants in a phase 1/2 study that includes a randomized stage to determine clinical benefits.

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By turning stem cells into brain cells, Aspen Neuroscience hopes to rewind the progress of Parkinson's disease - FierceBiotech

SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) December 11, 2019

Verge Genomics, a drug discovery company developing therapies for neurological diseases by integrating a unique all-in-human genomic platform with machine learning, announced today the appointment of two industry leaders to its scientific advisory board. The new members are Thomas Large, PhD, currently CEO and Co-founder of Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals and formerly of Sunovion and Eli Lilly, and James Summers, PhD, formerly Vice President of Neuroscience Research at AbbVie.

We are excited to welcome these accomplished industry veterans with expertise in discovering and developing therapies to treat neurological diseases to Verges advisory board said Alice Zhang, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Verge Genomics. Drs Large and Summers collective experience will be invaluable as we advance our highly promising drug candidates for ALS and Parkinsons disease toward the clinic.

Thomas Large, PhDDr. Large brings more than 20 years of drug discovery, research and translational medicine experience to Verges scientific board. Currently, he is CEO and Co-Founder of Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals, a start-up integrating systems neurobiology, chemistry and informatics to discover drugs with new mechanisms of action for brain disorders.

Previously, Dr. Large was Senior Vice President, Preclinical Research and Translational Medicine at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Under his leadership, the group pioneered a target-agnostic approach for CNS drugs, delivering multiple programs now in clinical development including SEP-363856 for schizophrenia, which was recently designated an FDA Breakthrough Therapy. Prior to Sunovion, Dr. Large was a scientific and group leader at Eli Lilly in neuroscience research, where he led projects that resulted in therapeutic candidates for anxiety, psychosis and pain. During his tenure at Eli Lilly, Dr. Large also managed a group developing innovative approaches for drug targets in the CNS, endocrine and oncology therapeutic areas.

Dr. Large holds a PhD in neurobiology and physiology from Northwestern University and completed a Howard Hughes postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Large previously served as a faculty member of the Department of Neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University Medical School.

James Summers, PhDDr. Summers brings over 30 years of drug discovery and pharmaceutical research management experience to Verges scientific advisory board. Previously, he was Vice President of Neuroscience Research at AbbVie, where he led efforts focused on the discovery of new treatments for Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases, pain, and psychiatric disorders. Under his leadership, his teams advanced more than twenty compounds into development. He established new research sites in Cambridge, MA and Shanghai, China, was an architect of several strategies that defined the future direction of Abbvies global research organizations, and championed multiple successful out-licensing deals, biotech collaborations and venture investments. He currently serves on the board of directors and as an advisor to several biotechnology companies.Dr. Summers earned his Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, in chemistry from Denison University and his doctorate in organic chemistry from Harvard University.

About Verge GenomicsVerge is focused on developing therapeutics for neurological diseases using human genomics to accelerate drug discovery. Verge has created a proprietary all-in-human platform, generating one of the fields largest and most comprehensive databases of ALS and Parkinsons Disease patient genomic data. The Company is led by experienced computational biologists and drug developers who are successfully advancing therapeutic programs in ALS and Parkinsons disease toward the clinic. For additional information, please visit http://www.vergegenomics.com.

Contactsfor Verge GenomicsShannon Stone, PhD415-854-5500shannon@vergegenomics.com

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Verge Genomics Announces the Addition of Two Renowned Neuroscience Drug Development Industry Experts to its Advisory Board - PR Web

LONDON, Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- COMPASS Pathways, a mental health care company, has reported that its COMP360 (psilocybin) was well-tolerated when administered to healthy adult volunteers with support from specially trained therapists in a randomised placebo-controlled trial by King's College London. The results from the phase I study, including data on safety and the feasibility of simultaneous 1:1 administration, were presented last night at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). Psilocybin is an active ingredient in so-called "magic mushrooms."

The study looked at the effects of 10mg and 25mg doses of COMP360, compared with placebo, in 89 healthy volunteers.Doses were administered simultaneously to up to six participants, who then received 1:1 psychological support from an assisting therapist throughout the session, overseen by a lead therapist and study psychiatrist.

Key results:

In 2018 COMPASS receivedFDA Breakthrough Therapydesignation for its programme of psilocybin therapy in treatment-resistant depression. COMPASS is currently running a phase IIb study across Europe and North America, involving 216 patients who suffer with depression that hasn't responded to established medications.

Dr Ekaterina Malievskaia, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder, COMPASS Pathways, said, "This study is part of our overall clinical development programme in treatment-resistant depression; we wanted to look at the safety and tolerability profile of our psilocybin, and to look at the feasibility of a model where up to six 1:1 sessions are held at the same time.We are focused on getting psilocybin therapy safely to as many patients who would benefit from it as possible. We are grateful to the many pioneering research institutions whose work over the years has helped to demonstrate the potential of psilocybin in medicine."

Dr James Rucker, Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Psychopharmacology at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, and lead investigator of the study, said,"This is the largest controlled study of psilocybin to date. The results of the study are clinically reassuring and support further development of psilocybin as a treatment for patients with mental health problems that haven't improved with conventional therapy, such as treatment resistant depression."

About this phase I placebo-controlled trial of COMP360 in healthy volunteers

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 89 healthy volunteers were randomised in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive 10mg COMP360 (n=30), 25mg COMP360 (n=30), or placebo (n=29), with 1:1 support from a trained assisting therapist during a session lasting about six hours. In total, 25 dosing sessions were completed, with up to six participants per session. The study involved a 12 week follow-up period.

About COMPASS Pathways

COMPASS Pathways is a mental health care company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health. We are developing psilocybin therapy through a late-stage clinical trial in Europe and North America for patients with treatment-resistant depression. COMP360 is an investigational psilocybin formulation developed and produced by COMPASS Pathways.

We think differently about mental health so you can too. http://www.compasspathways.com

About King's College London and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

King's College London is one of the top 10 UK universities in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2018/19) and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 31,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 8,500 staff.

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London is the premier centre for mental health and related neurosciences research in Europe. It produces more highly cited publications in psychiatry and mental health than any other university in the world (Scopus, 2016), with 31 of the most highly cited scientists in this field. World-leading research from the IoPPN has made, and continues to make, an impact on how we understand, prevent and treat mental illness and other conditions that affect the brain.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn

@KingsIoPPN

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Enquiries:

Tracy Cheung, tracy@compasspathways.com, +44 (0)796-630-9024

Amy Lawrence, amy@compasspathways.com, +44 (0)781-377-7919

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COMPASS Pathways and King's College London Announce Results From Psilocybin Study In Healthy Volunteers - PRNewswire

This market report is a thorough analysis of the existing situation and the anticipated condition for the Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market. Investigation for gathering the content for this report is done in-depth and meticulously. Present scenarios, past progress, global recognition and future prospects of Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market is offered in this report. Main strategies, market shares, products of the companies and investments in the Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market are also mentioned in detail.

The global neuroscience antibodies and assays market can be categorized based on product type, indication, technology, end-user, and region. On the basis of product type, the market can be divided into consumables and instruments. The consumable segment can be sub-divided into reagents (media & sera, stains & dyes, fixatives, buffers, solvents, probes, enzymes, proteins, and peptides), antibodies (primary antibodies, secondary antibodies, and assay. The instruments segment can be further categorized into microplate readers, immunoassay analyzers, and others.

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Top Companies Profiled in this Report includes Thermo Fisher, Abcam, Bio-Rad, Merck, Cell Signaling Technology, Genscript

For the purpose of the study, the Global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market is segmented based on various parameters. An in-depth regional classification of the market is also included herein. The factors which are impacting the markets growth are studied in detail. The report also presents a round-up of vulnerabilities that companies operating in the market must avoid in order to enjoy sustainable growth through the course of the forecast period.

Market segment by Type, the product can be split into

Consumables

Instruments

Market segment by Application, split into

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

Academic & Research Institutes

Hospitals & Diagnostic Centers

Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers

United States

Europe

China

Japan

Southeast Asia

India

Central & South America

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What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market?

What are the highest competitors in Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market?

What are the different marketing and distribution channels?

What are the global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market opportunities in front of the market?

What are the key outcomes of SWOT and Porters five techniques?

What is the global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market size and growth rate in the forecast period?

Table of Contents

Global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market Research Report

Chapter 1 Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market Overview

Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Industry

Chapter 3 Global Market Competition by Manufacturers

Chapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by Region

Chapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions

Chapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type

Chapter 7 Global Market Analysis by Application

Chapter 8 Manufacturing Cost Analysis

Chapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

Chapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

Chapter 11 Market Effect Factors Analysis

Chapter 12 Global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market Forecast

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Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market Growing Massively by 2019-2025 Focusing on Key Players Thermo Fisher, Abcam, Bio-Rad, Merck, Cell Signaling...

Opening the eyes immediately provides a visual perception of the world and it seems so easy. But the process that starts with photons stimulating the retina and ends with seeing is far from simple. The brains fundamental task in seeing is to reconstruct relevant information about the world from the light that enters the eyes. Because this process is rather complex, nerve cells in the brain neurons also react to images in complex ways.

Experimental approaches to characterize the responses of neurons to images have proven challenging in part because the number of possible images is endless. In the past, seminal insights often resulted from stimuli that neurons in the brain liked. Finding them relied on the intuition of the scientists and a good portion of luck, said senior author Dr. Andreas Tolias, professor and Brown Foundation Endowed Chair of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.

We want to understand how vision works. We approached this study by developing an artificial neural network that predicts the neural activity produced when an animal looks at images. If we can build a virtual avatar of the visual system, we can perform essentially unlimited experiments on it. Then we can go back and test in real brains with a method we named inception loops, said first author Dr. Edgar Y. Walker, former graduate student in the Tolias lab and now a postdoctoral scientist at University of Tbingen and Baylor.

To make the avatar learn how neurons respond, the researchers first recorded a large amount of brain activity using a mesoscope, a recently developed large scale functional imaging microscope. First, the researchers showed mice about 5,000 natural images and recorded the neural activity from thousands of neurons as they were seeing the images. Then, they used these images and the corresponding recordings of brain activity to train a deep artificial neural network to mimic how real neurons responded to visual stimuli.

To test whether the network had indeed learned to predict neural responses to visual images like a living mouse brain would do, we showed the network images it had not seen during learning and saw that it predicted the biological neuronal responses with high accuracy, said co-first author Dr. Fabian Sinz, adjunct assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor and group leader at the University of Tbingen.

Experimenting with these networks revealed some aspects of vision we didnt expect, said Tolias, founder and director of the Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence at Baylor.

For instance, we found that the optimal stimulus for some neurons in the early stages of processing in the neocortex were checkerboards, or sharp corners as opposed to simple edges which is what we would have expected according to the current dogma in the field.

We think that this framework of fitting highly accurate artificial neural networks, performing computational experiments on them, and verifying the resulting predictions in physiological experiments can be used to investigate how neurons represent information throughout the brain. This will eventually give us a better idea of how the complex neurophysiological processes in the brain allow us to see, Sinz said.

Find all the details of this study in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Other contributors to this work include Erick Cobos, Taliah Muhammad, Emmanouil Froudarakis, Paul G. Fahey, Alexander S. Ecker, Jacob Reimer and Xaq Pitkow.

Follow this link to find the complete list of author affiliations and financial support for this project.

By Ana Mara Rodrguez, Ph.D.

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Virtual avatar reveals what the brain likes to see - Baylor College of Medicine News

Dr Matthew Lennon was awarded the inaugural 2020 Bob Hawke and Tim Fischer Monash Scholarship at a celebration event held at Parliament House Canberra earlier this month.

It is an incredible honour to receive this scholarship - Tim Fisher and John Monash were both extraordinary men who have distinctively shaped the future of Australia. The scholarship is an opportunity to be part of the great Australian legacy and help shape our future for the better, Dr Lennon said.

The scholarship was created in honour of the late former Prime Minister and the late former National Party leader. The new $10 million scholarship is awarded by the General Sir John Monash Foundation to recipients who show excellence in their field, leadership qualities and a desire to make an important contribution to society.

Dr Lennon will use the scholarship to complete a Master of Neuroscience at Oxford University and plans to bring better dementia research and vital therapeutics, drug trials and care back to Australia to help our ageing population in rural and remote communities.

Dementia is a disease that has touched my family deeply. It is a disease that takes not just ones health but the very identity of the person who lives through it. It is the tragedies both in my family and affecting my patients that has inspired meto work on this vexed area of research, Dr Lennon said.

Dr Lennon graduated from Medicine at UNSW in 2017 with the University Medal and Class I Honours in Neuroscience. Following the completion of his degree he has worked with the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing to explore epidemiological and genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's Dementia.

While studying at UNSW he started Springboard Education, a charitable tutoring organisation that has provided free tutoring and educational resources to thousands of students in rural Australia.

He has worked extensively within the Australian Medical Association, writing and enacting policy, as well as for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, working to resolve challenges in Aged Care for rural and remote Australia.

The 2020 Bob Hawke and Tim Fischer John Monash Scholarship was judged by an eminent group of Australians, including former supreme court judges, industry leaders, academics, leaders of business, policy advisors and scientists from around the country, following a rigorous three-stage process.

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UNSW graduate receives 2020 inaugural Bob Hawke and Tim Fischer Monash scholarship - UNSW Newsroom

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. (BTI or the Company) (Nasdaq: BTAI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence approaches to identify and advance the next wave of medicines in neuroscience and immuno-oncology, today announced that the Company will advance the clinical evaluation of BXCL701 into multiple advanced solid tumors. BXCL701 is an orally active, systemic innate immunity activator with dual mechanisms of action.

This new study allows us to accelerate the evaluation of BXCL701 in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor in patients with a range of tumor types where checkpoint inhibitors are standard of care, commented Vincent J. ONeill, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BTI. We believe BXCL701 may have the potential to extend treatment responses to KEYTRUDA, a PD-1 inhibitor, when used together to treat advanced solid cancers. This trial expands on our studies of BXCL701 in prostate and pancreatic cancers as we explore its full potential.

The open-label Phase 2 basket trial (NCT04171219) will take place at a leading cancer center in the U.S. The study is designed to evaluate the response rate of orally administered BXCL701, combined with Pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) in patients with advanced solid cancers. If successful, the study would provide an option for patients who have failed or are refractory to checkpoint therapy. Outcome measures will include progression-free-survival, overall survival, and duration of response, as well as the safety of the combined treatment.

To learn more about the trial, visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/

About BXCL701:

BXCL701 is an investigational orally administered innate immune activator designed to initiate inflammation in the tumor microenvironment. Approved and experimental immunotherapies often struggle to address cancers that appear cold or uninflamed. Therefore, BXCL701 may render cold tumors hot, making them more detectable by the adaptive immune system and thereby facilitating the development of a strong anti-cancer immune response. BTIs data supports BXCL701s synergy with both current checkpoint inhibitor-based therapies and emerging immunotherapies directed to activate T-cells, such as IL-2 and OX40 agonist antibodies.

This candidate is currently being developed as therapy for treatment emergent Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer (tNEPC) and pancreatic cancer (both cold tumors) and other advanced solid cancers that are hot or have become resistant to checkpoint inhibitors. The safety escalation portion of the trial evaluating the double combination of BXCL701 and KEYTRUDA for tNEPC is ongoing with data read-out expected in the first half of 2020. The FDA has also accepted an IND application for the triple combination of BXCL701, bempegaldesleukin (produced by Nektar Therapeutics, Inc., or Nektar) and BAVENCIO (avelumab, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Pfizer) in pancreatic cancer. The triple combination trial is expected to begin following Nektar and Pfizers safety run-in study of a double combination of bempegaldesleukin and avelumab and the outcome of that trial.

About BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.:

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence to identify improved therapies in neuroscience and immuno-oncology. BTI's drug re-innovation approach leverages existing approved drugs and/or clinically evaluated product candidates together with big data and proprietary machine learning algorithms to identify new therapeutic indices. BTI's two most advanced clinical development programs are BXCL501, an investigational sublingual thin film formulation in development for acute treatment of agitation resulting from neuropsychiatric disorders, and BXCL701, an investigational orally administered systemic innate immunity activator in development for treatment of a rare form of prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and advanced solid cancers in combination with other immuno-oncology agents. For more information, please visit http://www.bioxceltherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to the timing and data from clinical development initiatives and trials for BXCL701 and the potential for BXCL701 to improve or extend treatment responses when combined with checkpoint inhibitors. When used herein, words including anticipate, being, will, plan, may, continue, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based upon BTI's current expectations and various assumptions. BTI believes there is a reasonable basis for its expectations and beliefs, but they are inherently uncertain.

BTI may not realize its expectations, and its beliefs may not prove correct. Actual results could differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, without limitation, its limited operating history; its incurrence of significant losses; its need for substantial additional funding and ability to raise capital when needed; its limited experience in drug discovery and drug development; its dependence on the success and commercialization of BXCL501 and BXCL701 and other product candidates; the failure of preliminary data from its clinical studies to predict final study results; failure of its early clinical studies or preclinical studies to predict future clinical studies; its ability to receive regulatory approval for its product candidates; its ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials; its approach to the discovery and development of product candidates based on EvolverAI is novel and unproven; its exposure to patent infringement lawsuits; its ability to comply with the extensive regulations applicable to it; its ability to commercialize its product candidates; and the other important factors discussed under the caption Risk Factors in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2019 as such factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov.

These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent managements estimates as of the date of this press release. While BTI may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, except as required by law, it disclaims any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing BTIs views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Contact Information:

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc.www.bioxceltherapeutics.com

Investor Relations:John Grazianojgraziano@troutgroup.com1.646.378.2942

Media:Julia Deutschjdeutsch@troutgroup.com1.646.378.2967

Link:
BioXcel Therapeutics to Expand Study of BXCL701 into Multiple Advanced Solid Tumor TypesBXCL701 may improve patient response when combined with...

HERSHEY, Pa. When James Connor, distinguished professor of neuroscience and anatomy and vice chair for research in the Department of Neurosurgery at Penn State College of Medicine, met James Olopade at an International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) meeting in South Africa more than a decade ago, Connor didnt realize that Olopade would someday come to his lab as part of an IBRO Research Fellowship. He also didnt know the impact the fellowship would have on Olopades career and on brain research and education in Africa.

Connor received a Visiting Scholar Speaker Award to Enhance Diversity in Neuroscience from the IBRO, and is using the funds to bring Olopade back to Hershey to share how his experience at the College of Medicine impacted his research and academic efforts in Africa.

Olopade, a veterinarian by training, arrived in Hershey in 2008 with an interest in studying neurotoxicity. During his time in Connors lab, he was able to determine that exposure to vanadium, a toxic metal in the environment in parts of Nigeria, during prenatal development can have negative consequences for brain development.

Students, faculty and staff at the College of Medicine can hear Olopade present his talk, titled The Impact in Africa 10 years After Being Trained in Penn State: The Story of an IBRO Research Fellow Alumnus, at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, in Lecture Room A.

Following his time as a visiting scholar at the College of Medicine, Olopade was published multiple times and continued his studies internationally through a series of fellowships. He is a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, his native country. From 2014 to 2018, he was head of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and, in 2017, was elected dean of the faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Ibadan. He also served as president of the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa and has been published more than 100 times.

James is a true leader in the field of neuroscience, said Connor. He hopes to set up the first neuroscience institute in Africa and he has been influential in fostering research opportunities for learners in Africa.

While in Nigeria a few years ago, Connor learned that students in Africa are responsible for funding their doctoral studies. He said that many students teach and do odd jobs while completing their education, which makes Olopades journey all the more impressive.

James is a role model for aspiring scientists in his country, Connor said. He has helped students find funding to continue their education and mentored them in research.

The goal of the Visiting Scholar Speaker Award is to promote awareness and increase diversity in neuroscience something the Department of Neurosurgery continues to champion as it recruits faculty and trainees from a variety of different backgrounds.

I am proud of our departments efforts to create a diverse environment, said Dr. Robert Harbaugh, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the College of Medicine.

According to Lynette Chappell-Williams, chief diversity officer for Penn State Health and associate dean of diversity and inclusion at the College of Medicine, diverse voices in research can help scientists gain new perspectives on topics they may not have previously considered.

Research shows that increased diversity in an organization can drive innovation and excellence, Chappell-Williams said.Dr. Olopades experience is a prime example of how diversity can benefit the field of research and should serve as encouragement to follow the lead of our neurosurgery department in exploring ways to increase cultural diversity in our specialty areas.

See more here:
A tale of two continents: Visiting scholar returns to Hershey to share impact - Penn State News

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Neuroscience Market Size & Share Analysis in terms of value & volume by 2025 - The Industry Press Releases