Neurodon Corp.

CROWN POINT, Ind., Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurodon, a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies for neurodegeneration, diabetes, and rare disease, announced today that it has been awarded approximately $2.9 million in continued funding under its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This grant will be used for continued development and Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies to support clinical translation of the company's small molecule activators of the SERCA enzyme for Alzheimer's disease. Neurodon's novel molecules have demonstrated neuroprotective properties and the ability to improve learning and memory in several preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease. To date, the company has been awarded over $5 million in funding from the NIA for their Alzheimer's disease therapeutic development program. "We are extremely grateful for the NIA's continued support of our molecules targeting neuron loss in Alzheimer's disease," said Russell Dahl, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Neurodon and the Principal Investigator of the grant. "This funding, which supports the completion of key studies required to submit an IND to the FDA and start clinical trials, is further validation that SERCA activation is a promising strategy for the development of disease-modifying agents for Alzheimer's disease and has the potential to bring hope to patients and their loved ones." As in their previously funded Alzheimer's disease research, Neurodon will team up with scientists in the Purdue Animal Behavioral Core (PBAC) at the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience. Purdue University is a top public research institution with world-class research facilities and faculty. "All of us at the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience are grateful to have this opportunity to partner with Neurodon. Alzheimer's disease is one of our institute's strategic initiatives and we are glad to be a part of these efforts. We would like to thank the NIA for their tremendous support and to Neurodon for inviting us to be part of the team," stated Wendy Koss, Ph.D., Director of the PBAC and Assistant Research Professor at Purdue University. "The NIA has been very supportive of our Alzheimer's disease research, providing not only critical funding but also comprehensive resources for small business development," added Colleen Mauger, R.N., Vice President of Operations at Neurodon. "This funding, in addition to investments we have recently received for other pipeline programs, further validates our platform and positions Neurodon well to be able to submit at least 2 IND applications to the FDA in the next 12-24 months." About Neurodon Neurodon is developing disease-modifying drugs for neurodegeneration, diabetes, and other life-threatening and rare diseases. Neurodon's patented molecules target fundamental pathways of cellular stress that are at the root cause of many devastating diseases. Neurodon deploys its proprietary platform technology to discover small molecule new chemical entities that correct cellular dysfunction and have demonstrated the ability to reverse the disease state in multiple preclinical models. For more information, visit . Contact: Colleen Mauger 219-225-2104 366268@email4pr.com

Oct. 26, 2021 11:00 UTC Curative Potential for Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Seen in Research Data Highlighted at Neurodon’s 2nd Annual Scientific Advisory Board Meeting CROWN POINT, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Neurodon Corp. reported that a pharmaceutical industry veteran, who spearheaded the development of blockbuster diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet for Merck, said at the company’s 2nd annual Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) meeting that he is even more enthusiastic about the diabetes therapy it is developing. In addition to controlling blood glucose, the expert said data indicates Neurodon’s investigational diabetes drug restored beta cell health in several models of the disease, something no other drug on the market can do. Neurodon’s diabetes drug NDC-0009 has the potential to treat both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, as well as pre-diabetes, said John Amatruda, M.D., former senior vice president for diabetes and obesity drug development at Merck. “The drug would be a gamechanger for patients,” Dr Armatruda said. Orally-available NDC-0009 is one of several first-in-class curative molecules Neurodon is developing for multiple diseases by targeting specific cellular stress pathways. “We’re gratified for the validation of our hypothesis from such a respected expert with a broad and deep understanding of diabetes drug development,” said Neurodon CEO Russell Dahl, Ph.D. “We hope to continue our rapid-fire progress with positive results, enabling us to begin clinical trials in late 2022,” Dahl said. The company plans to investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA in mid-2022. Also at Neurodon’s SAB meeting, experts in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as a specialist in cellular calcium regulation, presented their findings from early-stage research on the company’s drugs. "I’ve been very excited to see new research that shows it’s possible to boost calcium handling since a disruption of calcium levels is such a widespread disease mechanism,” said Seth Robia, Ph.D., a researcher at Loyola School of Medicine and member of Neurodon’s SAB. “It makes me very hopeful for our efforts to develop a therapeutic strategy based on restoring healthy calcium handling," Robia said. Research findings presented by SAB member and Alzheimer’s expert Ilya Bezprozvanny, Ph.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, showed Neurodon’s compounds protect hippocampal neurons that are destroyed by the disease. Additionally, D. James Surmeier, Ph.D., a Parkinson’s researcher at Northwestern University and an SAB member, noted that by restoring calcium homeostasis the company’s compounds can feasibly halt neuron loss and hence stop Parkinson’s pathogenesis. This suggests that Neurodon’s candidate has the potential to be the first ever disease-modifying drug for Parkinson’s. “It is very exciting to see further validation of Neurodon’s unique approach to targeting ER (endoplasmic reticulum) stress and calcium imbalance for a variety of disorders,” said Bezprozvanny, the Alzheimer’s expert. “Discussions at the SAB meeting provided interesting mechanistic insights into the company’s approach and helped to put Neurodon’s program in the context of the wider field of drug discovery.” About Neurodon Neurodon is developing disease-modifying drugs for diabetes, neurodegeneration and other life-threatening conditions. Neurodon deploys its proprietary endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress -based technology platform to discover small molecules that can reduce the cellular dysfunction that is the root cause of many diseases.