Proteome Sciences said this week that it has completed an in vivo study of its CK1D-inhibitor Alzheimer's disease therapy, finding that both of its lead compounds improved cognitive function in animal models.
The company now plans to begin a "comprehensive assessment of biological indicators and drug levels in various tissues," it said in a statement.
The recently completed study follows on an effort earlier last year in which Proteome Sciences demonstrated that its CK1D inhibitors – PS110 and PS278 – block tau phosphorylation in cell lines (PM 8/10/2012).
Ultimately, the company aims to partner with an established pharmaceutical company to commercialize the compounds.
The drug program stems from work the company did in collaboration with researchers at Kings College, London, on using mass spec to map post-translational modifications on tau. Through this work, the company identified a number of previously undetected tau phosphorylation sites, many of them regulated by CK1D – suggesting its potential suitability as a drug target.
Over the last two years, the company has been using in silico modeling along with its pTau 2.0 & 3.0 selected-reaction monitoring mass spec assays for tau phosphorylation to profile potential inhibitors of the protein.