| |
Athenagen Announces
Name Change to CoMentis
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO
, CA – FEBRUARY 10, 2007
Athenagen, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company,
announced today that it has re-named the company CoMentis,
Inc., effective as of February 16, 2007. CoMentis was formed
through the combination in 2006 of three companies: Athenagen,
Osprey Pharmaceutical Company and Zapaq.
Athenagen was originally founded in
2004 to develop therapies targeting a novel angiogenic pathway
mediated by the non-neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
(nAChR) found on endothelial cells. This new angiogenesis
pathway was discovered at Stanford University by a team led
by John Cooke, MD, PhD, and including Ken Kengatharan, PhD,
both co-founders of Athenagen. Athenagen’s
lead products based on this technology are a topical, anti-angiogenic
therapy applied as an eye-drop for age-related macular degeneration
and a topical pro-angiogenic gel for treatment of diabetic
foot ulcers. Both products are currently in Phase II clinical
development.
Osprey Pharmaceutical Company, founded
based on pioneering work by William Kem, PhD, at the University
of Florida in Gainesville, was created to develop therapies
that stimulate the neuronal nAChR pathway to enhance cognition.
Dr. Kem is an expert in identifying compounds that bind to
alpha-7 nACh receptors and was one of the first to characterize
the role of alpha-7 nACh receptors in cognition and memory.
The alpha-7 nACh receptor has been shown to stimulate cognition
without causing addiction or other side effects associated
with stimulation of other nACh receptors. In April 2006,
Athenagen acquired Osprey Pharmaceutical Company. Through
this acquisition, Athenagen gained GTS-21, currently in Phase
II trials in Alzheimer’s disease and
schizophrenia and shortly in ADHD, as well as an extensive
library of next-generation cognition enhancers.
Zapaq was founded in 2001 by Jordan Tang, PhD, of the Oklahoma
Medical Research Foundation, and Arun Ghosh, PhD, now at Purdue
University, both experts in the field of aspartic proteases.
In 2000, Dr. Tang's groundbreaking discovery of beta-secretase,
an aspartic protease which is a critical enzyme in beta amyloid
production, was published in Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. Together with Zapaq scientists, Drs. Tang and
Ghosh have characterized beta-secretase and its role in Alzheimer's
disease and have developed a portfolio of drug candidates designed
to inhibit the activity of this enzyme. Inhibition of beta-secretase
could reduce beta amyloid production and slow the progression
of Alzheimer's disease. The lead beta-secretase inhibitor from
this program is scheduled to begin clinical testing in 2007.
In August 2006 Athenagen merged with Zapaq.
The result of all these strategic
activities, CoMentis, is a biopharmaceutical company with
two technology platforms, three clinical-stage products in
development and a disease-modifying beta-secretase inhibitor
product heading into the clinic. “With
CoMentis we have created a critical mass of products that address
significant unmet medical needs,” said W. Scott Harkonen,
MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of CoMentis. “We
are excited to have assembled the products, team and capital
to build a leading biopharmaceutical company. Moreover, we
look forward to delivering five clinical trial results from
our portfolio over the next 18 months.”
In September 2006, CoMentis (then Athenagen) raised $50 million
in a Series B financing led by Sanderling Ventures and Clarus
Ventures. Index Ventures, Charter Life Sciences and Astellas
Venture Capital also invested in CoMentis.
About CoMentis
CoMentis, which is pronounced co-MEN-tis, has its headquarters
in South San Francisco, with research operations in both South
San Francisco and Oklahoma City. The company is engaged in
the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs to treat
diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, AMD and cognitive
disorders. The company has two fundamental technology platforms:
(i) nACh receptor agonists and antagonists for the treatment
of angiogenesis mediated diseases and cognitive disorders;
and (ii) beta-secretase inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s
disease. CoMentis currently has four product development programs
based on these two technologies: ATG3, a topical (eye drop)
anti-angiogenesis compound for neovascular AMD; GTS-21, an
oral agonist of the alpha-7 nACh receptor pathway for cognition
enhancement; ATG2, a topical (gel) containing a pro-angiogenesis
compound for diabetic foot ulcers; and ATG-Z1, an orally active
beta-secretase inhibitor entering the clinic in 2007.
For more information: www.comentis.com.
CONTACT:
W. Scott Harkonen, M.D.
President and CEO
(650) 869-7600
press@comentis.com
|
|
