WINNETKA, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Akava Therapeutics, Inc. is pleased to announce the publication in PNAS of results demonstrating benefits of its lead small molecule drug AKV9 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40030015/. AKV9 is a protein aggregation inhibitor discovered by Northwestern researchers that was previously shown to improve the health of upper motor neurons that degenerate in ALS. In mouse models of ALS having either mutant SOD1 toxicity or TDP-43 pathology, AKV9 was shown to improve the function of diseased upper motor neurons through multiple mechanisms of action https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33634973/. In addition, AKV9 was found to improve the health of mouse motor neurons having misfolded protein toxicity in cell cultures https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-09332-4.
AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is also associated with the accumulation of misfolded proteins in brain cells, leading to toxicity and disrupted brain function. The efficacy of AKV9 as a protein aggregation inhibitor was demonstrated at Northwestern University using rat hippocampal cell cultures. The addition of amyloid beta oligomers (AβO) to the cultures quickly formed aggregates. However, the addition of AKV9 before the addition of AβO reduced the amount of protein build up within the cells and along branches and dendrites. A small proof of concept study in a mouse model of AD was conducted with favorable results. Five vehicle-treated mice failed memory testing, while three out of four mice treated with AKV9 retained memory function similar to healthy mice.
AKV9’s ability to inhibit the AβO build up in cell cultures and retain memory function in a small proof of concept study suggests that AKV9 may also be used to treat AD.
AKV9 was invented by Richard B. Silverman, PhD, Patrick G. Ryan/Aon Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University. The Investigational New Drug application using AKV9 for the treatment of ALS has been cleared by the FDA to proceed with clinical trials.
Akava Therapeutics, Inc. was founded by Richard B. Silverman, PhD, as a platform to develop the pipeline of pre-clinical drug candidates discovered in the Silverman Lab at Northwestern University. Akava is raising capital in a Series A round to fund the Phase 1 study and supportive activities needed for later phase trials.
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