NIH awards $3.3 million for oral disease-modifying Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s therapeutic

The NIH has awarded a $3.3 million grant to advance a novel, oral silent allosteric modulator intended to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, according to the manufacturer.

Allyx Therapeutics said in a press release that the funding, issued as part of the NIH’s Small Business Innovation Research Commercial Readiness Pilot program, will be utilized to commence a phase 1 clinical trial examining pharmacokinetics of multiple doses of ALX-001 on cytochrome P450 enzymes.

The company additionally said that initial dosing with ALX-001 has begun in patients with both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease as part of two ongoing phase 1b studies, with no restrictions placed on pending phase 2 clinical trials.

“We are honored to receive this grant as we continue to advance toward commercialization of ALX-001 as a potential first-in-class disease-modifying oral therapy in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease,” Tim Siegert, co-founder and chief operating officer at Allyx Therapeutics, said in the release. “The metabolism study funded by this grant will help us to better understand the metabolic profile of ALX-001 which will be important for patient populations with a high likelihood of complex polypharmacy and comorbidities beyond neurodegenerative diseases.”

Funding for ALX-001, an orally bioavailable and brain penetrant small molecule, has reached $23 million due to contributions from sources such as the NIH, Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Association.