Benzinga | Jun 2, 2021 06:34AM EDT

CENTOGENE Initiates EFRONT Study To Identify Patients With Genetic Forms Of Frontotemporal Dementia; Study Being Conducted With Support From Alector

Centogene N.V. (NASDAQ:CNTG), a commercial-stage company focused on generating data-driven insights to diagnose, understand, and treat rare diseases, today announced a new observational study to understand the prevalence of genetic mutations in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The observational EFRONT Study is being conducted with support from Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering immuno-neurology, under a commercial agreement, the financial details of which were undisclosed.



Leveraging CENTOGENE's proprietary Bio/Databank, the observational EFRONT Study aims to enroll and genetically test more than 3,000 FTD patients at participating centers in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey.

Andrin Oswald, M.D., Chief Executive Officer at CENTOGENE, said, "Over the past 15 years, CENTOGENE's genetic expertise and multiomic approach has brought diverse insights into rare neurogenerative diseases. I am excited to be teaming up with Alector for the EFRONT Study, which will accelerate the understanding of FTD significantly. The study will take full advantage of the power of CENTOGENE's unique Bio/Databank, expertise in neuroscience, and extensive network of neurologists -- increasing the body of degenerative neuroscience data available, and further expanding CENTOGENE's Bio/Databank for discovering the breakthroughs of tomorrow."

Alector is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering immuno-neurology, a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Alector is developing a broad portfolio of innate immune system programs, designed to functionally repair genetic mutations that cause dysfunction of the brain's immune system and enable the rejuvenated immune cells to counteract emerging brain pathologies.

"Frontotemporal dementia is a devastating disease for which new treatment options are urgently needed," said Robert Paul, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Alector. "In line with our commitment to improving the lives of patients with frontotemporal dementia, we are pleased to support CENTOGENE's efforts to advance a better and more comprehensive understanding of the genetic underpinnings of FTD through the observational EFRONT Study."