Knobias Clip Report (09-03-2008) NRGX
Submitted By Knobias ClipReport
NRGX: License Agreement w/Aegera Therapeutics for Huntington’s Disease Treatment
By Fain Hughes, fhughes@knobias.com
Neurologix, Inc. (NRGX) and Aegera Therapeutics, a private clinical stage company focused on oncology and neuropathic pain, announced their execution of an exclusive license agreement. Pursuant to the agreement, Neurologix has exclusively licensed the worldwide rights, excluding China, for the use of the XIAP gene (x-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein) for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes in the treatment of Huntington’s disease. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Huntington’s disease is an inherited neurodegenerative disease that results in uncontrolled movements, deterioration of mental abilities and, ultimately, death. Neuronal cell death associated with the disease is believed to occur via apoptosis, the process of programmed cell death. XIAP is a potent inhibitor of caspases, a family of proteins that are key executors of apoptosis, and therefore it may offer utility as a therapeutic neuroprotective factor. In preclinical studies, Neurologix scientists have demonstrated that a mutated form of the XIAP gene delivered by an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector can not only slow the disease, but actually normalize motor deficits associated with the disease when introduced into the brain of mice harboring the same mutation found in humans using standard neurosurgical techniques.
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