Project ALS and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals announced a collaboration to undertake pre-clinical studies with Amylyx’s oral compound AMX0035 to advance the understanding of the compound’s neurobiological effects. The studies to be conducted at the Project ALS Pre-Clinical Core at Columbia University’s Motor Neuron Center will complement the company’s recently initiated Phase 2 clinical program of AMX0035 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The Project ALS Pre-Clinical Core at the Columbia University’s Motor Neuron Center has established a unique integrated and standardized platform for the testing and validation of new therapeutic strategies in recognized experimental models of ALS and for biomarker discovery. The Core, developed in collaboration with Project ALS, will accelerate the translation of new promising therapies to patients by facilitating speedy testing of new therapeutic leads discovered by laboratories studying motor neuron biology, genetics and genomics.
“The collaboration will bring together a promising therapeutic candidate for a devastating disease with leading edge, fundamental neuroscientific research at Columbia,” said Valerie Estess, director of research for Project ALS. “The studies in this collaboration will provide greater insight into the neurobiological effects of AMX0035, and hopefully optimize its beneficial effects.”
The collaboration is an outgrowth of previous studies by The Project ALS Pre-Clinical Core at Columbia University of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), one of the components of AMX0035.
AMX0035 is a combination of two drugs, sodium phenylbutyrate (PB) and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA). Previous studies of PB and TUDCA as individual agents demonstrated efficacy in cellular and animal models of ALS. AMX0035 has been shown to synergistically prevent nerve cell death and neurotoxic inflammation, hallmarks of ALS, in preclinical models. In addition, PB and TUDCA have been individually tested in ALS clinical trials and each demonstrated safety, tolerability, and preliminary signs of efficacy. AMX0035 recently entered Phase 2 clinical development to evaluate its safety and efficacy in ALS. The trial, called CENTAUR, is a 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 132 participants with ALS. More information on the CENTAUR trial can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03127514 and at www.Amylyx.com/Trials.