Neuropharma embarks on a new era with a new name: “NOSCIRA”
10/09/2008
• Neuropharma, a Zeltia group company created in 2000, is to change its name today to NOSCIRA.
• The goal is to adopt a more international name, one that is unique and may be registered in the EU, the US and Japan.
• Etymologically, Noscira transmits the idea of knowledge (cognos-cognoscere) applied to science.
• Phase I of the clinical development of NP-12 for Alzheimer's disease has been completed, confirming the safety and pharmacokinetics of the compound in 160 healthy subjects, both young and old.
• A Phase II trial will begin in the fourth quarter of 2008 in which NP-12 will be administered to Alzheimer's patients.
• Noscira is the only company in the world to have reached the clinical development stage with a drug to fight Alzheimer's using a groundbreaking mechanism of action based on inhibition of the GSK-3 enzyme.
Madrid, 10 September 2008. Neuropharma, founded within the Zeltia group company in 2000, will adopt the name of NOSCIRA today. In terms of etymology, Noscira conveys the idea of knowledge (cognos-cognoscere) applied to science.
The change is aimed at adopting a more international name that is unique and distinctive and may be registered in the EU, the US and Japan. NOSCIRA is embarking on a process of global expansion in which it is seeking international partners for product development in the US and the rest of the world.
The company has concluded Phase I of the clinical development of NP-12 for Alzheimer's disease, which confirmed the safety and pharmacokinetics of the compound in 160 healthy subjects, both young and old.
This change marks the beginning of a new phase in the Company's existence, as its first compound, NP-12, is due to enter Phase II trials in the last quarter of this year. This trial will be conducted in various Central European hospitals, where the drug will be administered to Alzheimer's patients over four months.
Since its inception, NOSCIRA's research has focused on finding innovative drugs for neurodegenerative illnesses for which no treatment exists. In the last few years, it has focused on Alzheimer's disease with a view to slowing the progressive chronic cognitive deterioration and improving patients' quality of life.
NP-12 is one of the most promising research compounds for treating Alzheimer's. To date, it is the only compound capable of acting on the main pathological parameters of Alzheimer's disease.
NP-12, the first compound in NOSCIRA's product pipeline, is a novel drug belonging to a new set of compounds; when tested in animal models, it improves cognitive performance while decreasing amyloid plaques, hyperphosphorylation, tau aggregation, neuroinflammation and, most importantly, neuron loss (the ultimate cause of the steady, spreading clinical deterioration), all of which are associated with Alzheimer's disease. The consistency of these findings demonstrates that NP-12 modifies the progress of Alzheimer's disease in patients.
Noscira is the only company in the world to have reached the clinical development stage with a drug to fight Alzheimer's using a groundbreaking mechanism of action based on inhibition of the GSK-3 enzyme. This kinase enzyme is involved in numerous cellular processes and plays a key role in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases; it is more concentrated and more active in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
NOSCIRA is the only Spanish biotechnology company to have reached the clinical development stage with a drug to fight Alzheimer's disease.
Belén Sopesén
Managing Director — Noscira
Alfonso Hurtado de Mendoza
Chief Financial Officer — Noscira
Fernando Mugarza
Communications Manager — Zeltia Group
