Alzamend Neuro, Inc. announced its partnership with Mint Labs Inc. d/b/a QMENTA, a medical imaging artificial intelligence company, to support its five upcoming Phase II clinical trials of AL001 at Massachusetts General Hospital.
QMENTA’s cloud-based platform will manage and analyze medical imaging data throughout the trials, ensuring regulatory compliance, enhancing operational efficiency and supporting data management. Their advanced AI solutions will play a critical role in optimizing the imaging workflow across all five clinical studies.
In collaboration with QMENTA and Massachusetts General Hospital as its clinical trial site, Alzamend aims to explore the unique properties of AL001 and its potential to deliver lithium more effectively in the brain compared to marketed lithium salts. The study in healthy human subjects will serve as a baseline and assist Alzamend determine the best path forward in Alzheimer’s, BD, MDD and PTSD patients by demonstrating AL001’s targeted effectiveness and reduced systemic side effects. Previous studies in mice have shown that AL001 ensures better brain absorption while maintaining lower levels of lithium in the blood, paving the way for safer and more efficient treatments.
By offering a treatment that potentially eliminates the need for lithium therapeutic drug monitoring (“TDM”), AL001 could revolutionize care for vulnerable patient populations and improve treatment outcomes. Lithium, renowned for its efficacy as a first-line therapy for manic episodes and maintenance in BD, has long been underutilized due to the complexities of TDM. Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved lithium salts are limited by a narrow therapeutic window that requires regular TDM of plasma lithium levels and blood chemistry by a clinician to mitigate adverse events. Since conventional lithium salts are eliminated relatively quickly, multiple administrations throughout the day are required to safely reach therapeutic plasma concentrations. By reducing the systemic burden, Alzamend’s novel AL001 formulation could signify a major shift in managing conditions like Alzheimer’s, by minimizing risks associated with kidney and thyroid side effects traditionally linked to lithium therapies.
“QMENTA has developed an all-in-one management platform for medical imaging clinical trials incorporating advancing AI solutions,” said Stephan Jackman, Chief Executive Officer of Alzamend. “We are thrilled to add QMENTA to the team and have full confidence in their ability encompassing our five phase II clinical studies of AL001. Moreover, this collaboration lays a foundation for future phase III programs and broader clinical deployment of advanced AI-based imaging biomarkers.”
“It’s a privilege to collaborate with Alzamend on such groundbreaking work. I truly believe that the right imaging strategy combined with innovative compounds like AL001 will transform how we treat complex neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders,” said Vesna Prchkovska, Chief Executive Officer of QMENTA. “By applying AI-driven imaging technologies, we believe we can advance safer, more effective treatments that could significantly impact patients with Alzheimer’s, BD, MDD, PTSD, among other diseases.”
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