Groundbreaking Team At Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals Adds Two New Members To Help Overcome The Challenge Of ALS And Alzheimer's Disease

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With their award-winning programs targeting the role of persistent stress granules, Aquinnah believes that they are on the cusp of a breakthrough in ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.  Their goal is to arrest and hopefully even reverse these devastating diseases.

To help them achieve this ambitious goal, Aquinnah has added two new members to the team:  Bob Carpenter, a pioneer in the biotechnology and healthcare industries, will join Aquinnah's Board of Directors, and Duane Burnett, an award-winning chemist, who will lead chemistry R&D for Aquinnah's portfolio as Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry.

Bob Carpenter founded a number of successful biotech companies that he took public, including Integrated Genetics and GelTex Pharmaceuticals, both of which were acquired by Genzyme (now Sanofi Genzyme). Mr. Carpenter served on the Board of Genzyme from 1994 to 2011, most recently as Lead Director.  

He also founded Boston Medical Investors in 1994 and currently serves as a Director of Good Start Genetics, Olaris Therapeutics, Immuneering Inc., Hydra Biosciences, and Lysosomal Therapeutics, Inc.  Mr. Carpenter is a graduate of West Point, Stanford Universityand holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

"Bob has dedicated his career to creating new drugs for unmet medical needs.  He is someone who understands the complexities of drug discovery and development and he will play an invaluable role in our continued success," said Dr. Glenn Larsen, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Duane Burnett, Ph.D., is a medicinal chemistry leader with nearly 30 years of experience at leading pharmaceutical companies including Schering Plough, Merck and Forum. His impressive list of awards includes: National Inventor of the Year, American Chemical Society Hero of Chemistry Award, Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award, and Prix Galien USA – Best Medical Agent Finalist.

In addition, he has 60 published papers and 108 granted or published patents and applications.  Dr. Burnett is best known as the inventor of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor, ezetimibe, used in two highly successful, multi-billion dollar drugs.

"Duane Burnett brings a great deal a scientific experience and insight to Aquinnah.  We are very happy to have Duane join our team," said Dr. Ben Wolozin, M.D., Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Aquinnah.

Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals is committed to restoring the health of people with ALS, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.  They have developed a revolutionary approach that has the potential to arrest, and possibly even reverse, these diseases. Aquinnah was chosen as the Most Innovative Neurodegenerative Research Company in 2016 by New Economy Magazine.

To learn more, please visit us at:  aquinnahpharma.com 

Contact:
Glenn Larsen
President and CEO
Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals
Glarsen@aquinnahpharma.com
617-863-3678

Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals Named Most Innovative Neurodegenerative Research Company 2016

CAMBRIDGE, MA, October 24, 2016 - The New Economy Magazine, a London-based publication, presented its 2016 international awards to the most innovative companies and individuals in September.  In describing the selection process, The New Economy says “Our analysts look at firms and individuals that pose big questions and answer with big ideas.”

Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals was the recipient of the “Most Innovative Neurodegenerative Research Company 2016.”  Drs. Larsen and Wolozin were in London to receive the award. 

The New Economy Magazine

Wolozin Lab Shows that the Stress Granule Pathway Contributes to Alzheimer's Disease

CAMBRIDGE, MA, May 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Dr. Benjamin Wolozin’s laboratory has shown that the pathway leading to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is similar to the stress granule pathway implicated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This work opens up AD to the innovative drug discovery approaches pioneered by Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals Inc. 

The findings, published today in a leading journal, Cell Reports, focuses on the tau protein, whose abnormal aggregation (clumping) has long been known to drive the nerve damage in AD. New research shows that the tau protein directs the formation of stress granules, which are molecular complexes that allow nerve cells to adapt to stresses, such as injury. The tau-stress granule complex is usually short lived, but in the setting of chronic stress, tau persistently forms into a cluster, leading to the degeneration of nerve cells seen in AD. 

Dr. Wolozin, MD, PhD, who is Chief Scientific Officer of Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals Inc., and a professor at Boston University School of Medicine explains, “Scientists have known for a long time that during disease, tau protein gets modified, changes its location in nerve cells, and then aggregates.” In healthy nerve cells, tau resides in a part of the nerve cell termed the axon, the long, slender part of the cell that carries electrical impulses away from the neuron’s body. Wolozin’s group showed that moving tau from the axon to the nerve cell body helps the nerve cells respond to stress (such as injury). “The nerve cells do this in order to stimulate the formation of stress granules, which help the cell to adapt under stressful conditions. Stress granules instruct the cell to divert energy toward making protective proteins and away from making specialized proteins, which are less necessary during stress.” 

“Surprisingly,” says Wolozin, “the association of tau with stress granules also caused tau to cluster. Most stresses are short term, resolve quickly and are therefore not a problem. But some stresses are chronic, such as vascular disease or the accumulation of beta-amyloid - a protein that accumulates outside the neuron in Alzheimer’s disease.” Chronic stress leads to excessive, persistent accumulation of stress granules containing aggregated tau, which ultimately damages nerve cells, causing degeneration.” 

According to Wolozin, with this finding comes hope. His team found that reducing the amount of one of the key stress granule proteins, TIA1, prevented tau aggregation and nerve cell degeneration. “While still in its early stages, this work points to entirely new approach that is now being pursued to treat Alzheimer’s disease.”. The BrightFocus Foundation, the Alzheimer Association, the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund and the National Institute of Health provided funding for this work. 

About Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals

Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals is using newly discovered brain pathology to design innovative therapies to slow the progression of ALS, AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Aquinnah builds on the groundbreaking work of co-founder Benjamin Wolozin, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Neurology and the Program in Neuroscience at Boston University, who has led the discovery of disease-linked protein aggregation in neurologic diseases. Additional information about Aquinnah is available through its corporate website, www.aquinnahpharmaceuticals.com

Aquinnah Contacts – news@aquinnahpharma.com