Submitted by Athira Pharma
Athira Pharma is a clinical-stage company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Our focus is to advance new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and ALS. Our mission is to restore lives by advancing bold therapies, thoughtfully and urgently.
Despite the challenges that have existed in tackling Alzheimer’s disease treatment, a lot has been achieved in the understanding of the pathology and presentation of the disorder.
At Athira, our approach is focused on restoring lost connections or even building new connections in the brain. This holds the potential to halt or even reverse the progress of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
NDX-1017 – Lead Drug Candidate for Alzheimer’s Disease
Our lead drug candidate, NDX-1017, employs a completely different mechanism of action compared to other therapies currently in development. It is designed to activate key brain neurotrophic receptors, or brain growth factors, with the potential to promote the formation of new brain connections and improve brain circuitry and activity.
Preclinical studies of NDX-1017 have demonstrated its ability to promote neuro-regeneration and improve cognitive function. NDX-1017 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or mild cognitive impairment in the United States and France. Early results have demonstrated the safety and drug activity in healthy young and older adult volunteers.
A nimble company on an accelerated path
Athira is composed of a dedicated team striving to achieve a bold goal. The company’s values include collaboration, transformation, integrity and resourcefulness.
While we are working in the same areas as some very large pharmaceutical companies, we view our lean operations as an advantage. We are able to be more flexible and have succeeded in getting to the clinic efficiently and effectively.
At Athira, we believe that to truly impact a disease with a huge burden, the therapy not only has to work but it also has to be accessible and available to everyone.
People-centric trials and an accessible, affordable treatment
As we work to advance our therapies, we know we can’t do it alone. In our clinical trials, we have been conducting surveys with participants to understand their needs and challenges and to use that feedback to guide our future trial and product development plans. We believe it’s important to work closely with those impacted to design meaningful and effective clinical trials. And we are dedicated to creating therapies that are accessible and affordable.
“Our primary goal remains that of impacting the course of neurodegenerative diseases. We are focused on implementing people-centric clinical trials and are dedicated to advancing treatments that are accessible and affordable.” – Leen Kawas, CEO of Athira
Support from the Alzheimer’s Association
We recognize developing therapies for brain diseases is challenging. But technologies are getting better and smarter and helping to empower our decisions and development strategies incorporating more thoughtfulness around our product profile.
Earlier this year, Athira was selected as a recipient of the PART THE CLOUD to RESCUE grant from the Alzheimer’s Association. The $1 million award will help support further clinical development of our NDX-1017.
The strategic goal of the Alzheimer’s Association Part the Cloud grants program is to increase the options for potential interventions in early stages of neurodegeneration. The PART THE CLOUD to RESCUE (REverse, reStore, Cease and UndErstand) Brain Cell Degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease program promotes human studies to advance innovative ideas for early phase human trials (Phase 1 or Phase 2 proof of concept) that addresses therapies to target neuron health in Alzheimer’s disease.
Upcoming Data Presentation
We are looking forward to presenting some initial findings of our first clinical trial of NDX-1017 this summer at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC).
This will be the first time we will review the early results from our clinical trial with others in the Alzheimer’s community, including leading physicians and other researchers. We are continuing to collect data from our ongoing trial, and we are also in the process of planning for our next clinical trial, which will enroll a larger number of participants.
If you are interested in following our progress, we invite you to visit our website and to even sign up for our email list to keep updated on our activities.
