Memory's MEM 3454 start Ph IIa for AD

New Jersey, USA-based Memory Pharmaceuticals has initiated dosing of the first subject in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase IIa clinical trial of MEM 3454, its lead nicotinic alpha-7 receptor partial agonist, in Alzheimer's disease. The trial is designed to assess the safety, tolerability and cognitive effects of three doses of MEM 3454 in subjects with mild-to-moderate AD.

"MEM 3454 showed promising cognitive effects in its Phase 1 clinical trial and we're excited about evaluating its efficacy in a disease setting," said Stephen Murray, vice president of clinical development. "We now have two drug candidates, with two distinct mechanisms of action, in clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and we expect to report top-line results from both trials in the fourth quarter of this year," he added.

The trial will enroll approximately 80 subjects with mild-to-moderate AD at multiple sites in the USA. Subjects will be randomized to receive 5mg, 15mg or 50mg of MEM 3454 or placebo once daily for a period of eight weeks. The primary objective of the study is to assess the effect of MEM 3454 using the Quality of Episodic Secondary Memory (QESM) factor score from the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) battery. Secondary objectives include assessing the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of multiple doses of MEM 3454 and the drug's effect on additional psychometric test items from the CDR battery and the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - Cognitive subscale (ADAS - cog).