Benzinga | Apr 21, 2021 08:37AM EDT

Alterity Therapeutics To Present Animal Data In Support Of ATH434 At American Academy of Neurology Meeting

Alterity Therapeutics ((ASX: ATH, NASDAQ:ATHE) ("Alterity" or "the Company") today announced an oral presentation of expanded animal data to support the commercialisation of its lead compound ATH434 in clinical development for the treatment of Parkinsonian disorders, at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) virtual annual meeting.

The AAN conference, held this week, is the world's preeminent clinical and scientific conference in the neurology space. The presentation titled ATH434 Preserves Dopaminergic Neurons, Reduces ?-synuclein Oligomerization, and Improves Motor Function in a Transgenic Murine Multiple System Atrophy Model [1] will be delivered on 21st April.

The data to be presented further strengthens the evidence that ATH434 is neuroprotective in brain regions implicated in Parkinsonian disorders. The data, from an animal model of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), independently confirm and extend previous findings demonstrating that ATH434 reduces ?-synuclein pathology, preserves neurons, and improves motor function. The new data indicate that ATH434 preserves neurons not only in the substantia nigra, a main area of pathology in Parkinson's disease, but also in the striatum, a region of the brain that integrates information from the cortex and substantia nigra to achieve fine motor control. Impaired motor performance is a cardinal symptom of Parkinsonian disorders.

Alterity's Chief Executive Officer, Dr David Stamler, said: "These new data are very encouraging and provide a strong rationale for the disease-modifying potential of ATH434."

The improvement in motor performance associated with ATH434 was shown on a task that is specifically designed to assess coordination and balance in animals. The establishment of a clear correlation between the preservation of neurons and motor performance with ATH434 is a significant advance and provides important further data to support clinical development.

The study also showed that ATH434 led to reductions in glial cell inclusions, comprised of aggregated ?-synuclein, and in levels of the toxic form of ?-synuclein, both of which are pathological features of MSA, Alterity's first clinical indication for ATH434.

The study was conducted independently in the laboratory of Dr. Nadia Stefanova, Professor of Translational Neurodegeneration Research at the Medical University of Innsbruck, and builds on extensive prior experience with animal models of Parkinson's disease and MSA from this prestigious research centre.

Dr Stamler continued: "We are pleased to see the exceptional work of Dr. Stefanova's team presented at this year's AAN Conference."

[1] Authors: Antonio Heras-Garvin1, Violetta Refolo1, Margaret Bradbury2, DavidStamler3, Nadia Stefanova1