MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -- 07/08/08 --
Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D., Co-Founding
Scientist of Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN) (ASX: PBT), a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of
treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, was invited this past May to
testify in front of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging on the
Future of Alzheimer's: Breakthroughs and Challenges. The hearing, lead by
Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR), discussed
Alzheimer's Disease as a growing crisis and how the United States can
accelerate its efforts against the disease. Additional participants
included Sandra Day O'Connor, Former Supreme Court Justice, Member of the
Alzheimer's Study Group, Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Member of the Alzheimer's Study Group, Charles Jackson,
Alzheimer's patient and Suzanne Carabone, Alzheimer's patient caregiver.
The recent failed clinical studies of what were once-promising Alzheimer's
drugs have now attracted much attention to Prana and the future of
therapeutic treatments to Alzheimer's disease. In response Dr. Tanzi, an
internationally recognized authority on Alzheimer's disease who has
co-discovered three of the four known genes that cause Alzheimer's disease,
presented information to the U.S. Senate on the differing Abeta-targeted
therapeutic approaches, and commented upon the ongoing clinical trials in
Alzheimer's disease.
Key material from the testimonial included:
-- Future prospects for immunotherapy and gamma-secretase therapeutic
approaches;
-- Approaches to targeting and regulating Abeta production; and,
-- Recent developments regarding drugs aimed at treating and preventing
Alzheimer's disease.
Prana's theories concerning the interaction between metals and the protein
Abeta in the brain are the basis of the company's treatments for
Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Prana's proprietary lead
compound, PBT2, recently concluded a Phase IIa trial in early Alzheimer's
disease, which demonstrated safety and tolerability, and significant
reductions in Abeta 42 and improvement in Executive Function performance in
cognitive tests. Prana will be presenting this data at the International
Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) in July.
Dr Tanzi stated, "Unlike other approaches, Prana's PBT2 appears to
neutralize the neurotoxicity of Abeta and facilitates its clearance from
the brain. Prana's latest clinical trial results were highly encouraging,
by significantly lowering Abeta 42 in the cerebrospinal fluid, and
improving cognition in the executive function of patients over a 12-week
period. I testified to the U.S. Senate that therapies targeted against the
amyloid beta protein offer the best chance at slowing down the progression
of Alzheimer's disease. It is my strong belief that PBT2 is among the very
best therapies available for achieving this goal."
About Dr. Rudolph Tanzi
Dr. Rudolph Tanzi is a Professor of Neurology (and Neuroscience) at Harvard
University, and serves as the Director of the Genetics and Aging Research
Unit consisting of eight laboratories in the MassGeneral Institute for
Neurodegenerative Diseases at MGH. Since 1982, Dr. Tanzi has focused his
studies on Alzheimer's disease (AD). He isolated the first familial
Alzheimer's disease (FAD) gene, known as the amyloid beta-protein (A4)
precursor (APP) in 1987, and another in 1995, called presenilin 2. Dr.
Tanzi is also a co-founder of the "Metal hypothesis of Alzheimer's
disease." His laboratory first discovered that the metals zinc and copper
are necessary for the formation of neurotoxic assemblies of the
AD-associated peptide, Abeta, the main component of beta-amyloid deposits
in brains of AD patients. These studies have led to ongoing clinical trials
for treating and preventing AD by targeting Abetametal interactions.
Dr. Tanzi has co-authored over 320 research articles and reviews, including
three of the top ten most cited papers in AD research over the last decade
over which time he was the 5th most cited scientist in the field of AD
research. He is also a co-author of a popular trade book on Alzheimer's
disease entitled "Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of
Alzheimer's Disease." Dr. Tanzi has received several awards for his work,
including the two highest awards for Alzheimer's disease research: The
Metropolitan Life Foundation Award and The Potamkin Prize.
About Prana Biotechnology Limited
Prana Biotechnology was established to commercialize research into
Alzheimer's disease and other major age-related neurodegenerative
disorders. The company was incorporated in 1997 and listed on the
Australian Stock Exchange in March 2000 and listed on NASDAQ in September
2002. Researchers at prominent international institutions including The
University of Melbourne, The Mental Health Research Institute (Melbourne)
and Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical
School, contributed to the discovery of Prana's technology.
For further information, please visit our web site at www.pranabio.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company has tried to identify such
forward-looking statements by use of such words as "expects," "intends,"
"hopes," "anticipates," "believes," "could," "may," "evidences" and
"estimates," and other similar expressions, but these words are not the
exclusive means of identifying such statements. Such statements include,
but are not limited to any statements relating to the Company's drug
development program, including, but not limited to the initiation, progress
and outcomes of clinical trials of the Company's drug development program,
including, but not limited to, PBT2, and any other statements that are not
historical facts. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties,
including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties relating to
the difficulties or delays in financing, development, testing, regulatory
approval, production and marketing of the Company's drug components,
including, but not limited to, PBT2, the ability of the Company to procure
additional future sources of financing, unexpected adverse side effects or
inadequate therapeutic efficacy of the Company's drug compounds, including,
but not limited to, PBT2, that could slow or prevent products coming to
market, the uncertainty of patent protection for the Company's intellectual
property or trade secrets, including, but not limited to, the intellectual
property relating to PBT2, and other risks detailed from time to time in
the filings the Company makes with Securities and Exchange Commission
including its annual reports on From 20-F and its reports on Form 6-K. Such
statements are based on management's current expectations, but actual
results may differ materially due to various factions including those risks
and uncertainties mentioned or referred to in this press release.
Accordingly, you should not rely on those forward-looking statements as a
prediction of actual future results.
Contacts:
Investor Relations
Leslie Wolf-Creutzfeldt
T: 646-284-9472
E: lcreutzfeldt@hfgcg.com
Media Relations
Ivette Almeida
T: 646-284-9455
E: ialmeida@hfgcg.com
