PROVIDENCE – As the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease grows, typical treatments for the neurodegenerative illness are rooted in an approach that’s about 90 years old.
And that treatment shows limited success against the devastating disease: Patients need to start these therapies in the very early stages to experience much of an effect, says neuroscience researcher Stevin A. Zorn, and even then, it’s “modest at best.”
Zorn and his team at MindImmune Therapeutics, a University of Rhode Island spinout that will soon relocate to Providence, are taking a different approach to develop what they believe could be a breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative illnesses.
If successful, "the promise of this (treatment) is that we’ll halt this disease and improve the cognitive state of patients in a way that nothing out there can do," Zorn said.
MindImmune is one of six companies that has leased space at the Ocean State Labs, the state’s first lab space designed specifically to support life science startups.
Since the announcement of the first five Ocean State Labs tenants, a sixth, Lilac Biosciences, has signed a lease, said Rhode Island Life Science Hub president and CEO Dr. Mark A. Turco, with “strong interest from a number of others.”
Venture development firm and manager Portal Innovations is targeting a Jan. 15 opening for the labs as it sorts of “the fine details” such as inspection requirements, Turco added.
MindImmune, which last week announced that it has secured $30 million for its series A funding round, represents the type of innovation that the R.I. Life Science Hub wants to foster in the upcoming lab space, Turco said.
The MindImmune team plans to start clinical studies and phase one trials next year, Zorn says, which in combination with grant funding from the R.I. Life Science Hub puts the company about one year ahead of schedule.
Time is of the essence as Alzheimer's and related diseases accelerate in prevalence, Zorn says, upending lives and exerting financial stress on individuals and the health system.
Meanwhile, new treatments under development by pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Johnson & Johnson last month failed to pass trials, which Turco says highlights the need to continue supporting other therapeutic pathways.
Traditionally, researchers have theorized that abnormal protein buildups in the brain cause Alzheimer's disease.
MindImmune instead focuses on neuroinflammation as the cause of the disease, and on treating and preventing Alzheimer’s progression through targeting the immune system. The team has developed a monoclonal antibody, MITI-101, intended to target cells associated with neuroinflammation from entering the brain.
Alongside the upcoming headquarters shift, which Zorn says will better connect the company to the regional life science ecosystem, MindImmune announced a leadership change-up.
Zorn, who has led the company since its founding in 2016, is stepping out of the CEO role to become MindImmune's chief scientific officer. Isaac Stoner, a Rhode Island native with 18 years of experience in life sciences entrepreneurship, will take over as CEO.
The leadership changes will allow MindImmune to give appropriate attention to both the research and clinical development sides of scaling, Zorn said.
“Isaac was very suited for that role, and I’m very suited to take on the CSO role as we continue,” he added.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
