Auritec Receives Funding for Parkinson's Program
Pasadena, July 5, 2005
Auritec Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is pleased to announce the receipt of a second federal grant sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
The broad goal of this project is to develop sustained release subcutaneous drug delivery systems in order to achieve continuous dopaminergic stimulation in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Today’s technology, which is largely based on pulsatile dopaminergic pharmacokinetics, contributes to the variable beneficial effects as well as adverse effects of treatment of PD, and may also contribute to the progression of motor side effects, such as dyskinesias. Continuous dopaminergic stimulation has therefore been considered an important therapeutic goal. Auritec has developed a proprietary subcutaneous sustained release platform technology based on suspensions of polymer coated pure drug particles. High drug loading and sustained release kinetics have been achieved with several other drugs and this technology should be readily adaptable to drugs used in the treatment of PD.
Specific aims of this Phase I proposal are to formulate sustained release suspensions for the dopaminergic agonist apomorphine, test the in vitro release characteristics of these formulations into buffer, and test the in vivo pharmacokinetics and the duration of the formulations in rats.
Auritec’s team of investigators is comprised of experts in drug development, polymer chemistry, neuropharmacology, pharmacokinetics and clinical neurology.
Auritec is also pleased to continue its partnership with McLean Hospital and Harvard University School of Medicine for this research program. McLean and Harvard’s participation will again be under the direction of Dr Ross Baldessarini. Dr Daniel Tarsy will also be a consultant on the project. Daniel Tarsy, MD, is an Associate Professor of Neurology in the Harvard Medical School and Director of the Movement Disorders Clinic, and Vice Chairman, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr Tarsys extensive publiciations on Parkinson’s disease include, most notibly, the textbook Surgical Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and Other Movement Disorders, published in 2003. He is on the Movement Disorder Society's International Editorial Board. Drs Tarsy and Baldessarini have collaborated for many years on problems related to the neuropharmacology of movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease.
Auritec Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a small company based in Pasadena, California, specializing in innovative, extended release drug delivery systems. Auritec was founded by Thomas J Smith, MD and Gary Ransom. Dr Smith was previously Medical Director and Chairman at Control Delivery Systems, Inc. (CDS), where he was the co-founder, PI on key patents and remains a significant shareholder. Dr Smith is joined on Auritec's management team by Gary Ransom, a seasoned international business executive, who focuses on strategy, marketing and business development.
Auritec has developed a novel approach to extended release drug delivery with implications so far for indications including schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, and AIDS. Auritec’s primary objective is to develop and test the use of its Plexis(™) platform in a wide range of drug classes, and subsequently license the technology to key partners to continue development, trials and eventual commercialization.