Israeli co Avraham Pharmaceuticals raises $4m

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The startup is developing a treatment for the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Avraham Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has closed a financing round of $4 million. Investors in the round include Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Pontifax, Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. (TASE: CBI), Integra Holdings, Yissum's biotech holdings company, the Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd. (TRDF), and others.

Avraham Pharmaceuticals will use the capital to complete the on-going Phase IIb study of its lead product, ladostigil, a novel molecule designed for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early stages of Alzheimer's disease, results of which are expected in the third quarter of 2016. The investment will also support activities in preparation for the next Phase 3 study of ladostigil. These include the establishment of a clinical advisory board which includes key opinion leaders in the fields of MCI and Alzheimer’s disease and a steering committee that will assist the Company in the design of the Phase 3 study. In addition, the capital will be used for preparations for a future pre-IND meeting with the FDA

Avraham Pharmaceuticals CEO Dr. Yona Geffen said, "This additional investment is a further vote of confidence from our existing investors in Avraham and ladostigil and will enable us to complete our on-going Phase II study with patients suffering from MCI, that is advancing on schedule, and to make the necessary preparations for the next clinical trial, a Phase 3 pivotal study. We believe that ladostigil holds the potential of a disease modifying drug that will alleviate MCI symptoms and prevent progression to Alzheimer's disease.” Ladostigil’s on-going Phase 2b trial, for the evaluation of its safety and efficacy in MCI patients, is a 3 years, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial and includes 210 MCI patients in 16 centers in Europe and Israel. In July 2015, following 2 years of treatment, the company announced successful interim results, pointing to a positive trend of the ladostigil treated group in comparison to the placebo treated group in the number of patients who did not progress from MCI to Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, an independent expert committee concluded that there are no safety issues preventing continuation of the trial after evaluating safety data on all patients participating in the trial and that have completed at least 2 years of treatment.

“MCI often progresses to dementia, and in particular to Alzheimer's disease. Currently there is no treatment for MCI, and there is a high medical need to be able to delay this progression and to slow the deterioration of people with MCI,” Yaacov Michlin, Chairman of Avraham Pharmaceuticals and Chief Executive Officer of Yissum, said. ”We are very encouraged from the favorable efficacy trends of the interim results of the Phase 2b study and the excellent safety profile of the drug, and look forward to the final results expected by the end of the year.”

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 25, 2016

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016

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