Search For Alzheimer’s cure at Manchester Science Park

PharmaKure, a company spun out from The University of Manchester by its technology transfer arm, UMIP, is hoping that its research into finding new uses for old drugs could one day bring hope to people affected by Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of senile dementia, affecting more than 15 million people worldwide.  With increased life expectancy and an aging population, this number is set to rise considerably.  It is currently the fourth biggest killer in Britain, after heart disease, cancer and stroke.

There are currently no drugs that can provide a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The five currently on the market, at best, alleviate symptoms for 6-12 months.

Manchester Science Park-based drug-discovery company, PharmaKure, which launched in December at the World Drug Repositioning Congress in the USA, has patented its first drug, PK-048, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and is now looking for investment and pharma partnerships to fund drug library screening, pre-clinical and early phase human trials.

The founders of the company, Dr Farid Khan and Professor Andrew Doig, have a successful track record and significant expertise in drug discovery and development in industry.

PK-048 was first discovered in the 1980s, as a drug candidate for Parkinson's disease, but it had never been tested for treatment of Alzheimer's.  Previous data from animal trials have shown that the drug is orally active, non-toxic and crosses the blood-brain barrier in primates, a crucial requirement for an Alzheimer's drug.