Living Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT) has executed a research agreement with La Trobe University (LTU) to undertake an array of pre-clinical studies to assess the company’s cannabinoid-based combination drug, known as AI- 116.
AI-116 includes cannabidiol (CBD) and another off-patent pharmaceutical drug. The pre-clinical studies to be undertaken at LTU will employ a suite of state-of-the-art experimental techniques, which are expected to provide valuable insights into the mechanism of action of AI-116, including by comparing the efficacy of AI-116 to an existing class of drugs used to treat dementia. CBD is non-psychoactive, has a good safety profile and has been reported to be pharmacologically active in several models of disease1.
All intellectual property resulting from the pre-clinical studies will vest with LCT. Results from the studies are anticipated in multiple deliverable time frames over a period of 12 months.
The results of these pre-clinical studies may also guide the next steps in the R&D programme for AI-116 and potentially serve to underpin further patent applications, consistent with LCT’s broader strategy to identify new opportunities to develop intellectual property assets that align with the Company’s commercial interests.
The pre-clinical studies are being led by Principal Investigator, Professor Garrie Arumugam, at the LTU Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Disease Research.
Professor Garrie Arumugam is an expert in physiology. He completed his bachelor’s degree in medical science with honors in 1998 at the University of Sydney and holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology from the University of Queensland. He completed his post-doctoral training at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Centre in Shreveport, USA in the research laboratory of Professor Neil Granger and at the National Institute of Health, Baltimore, USA in the laboratory of Professor Mark Mattson.
Professor Arumugam joined LTU in March 2020. His research focuses predominantly on investigating neuronal cell death mechanisms in stroke and vascular dementia. Professor Arumugam has published his work extensively, with over 185 articles in diverse high-impact journals including Nature Medicine, Circulation, PNAS, Nature Communications, Molecular Psychiatry, Annals Neurology, Cell Metabolism, Theranostics, Progress in Neurobiology, Cell Death & Disease, Ageing Research Reviews, and Human Molecular Genetics. Professor Arumugam has over 20,000 (Google Scholar) career citations and has also authored several academic book chapters.
About Dementia
Dementia is a term used to describe a decline in cognitive function that affects a person’s ability to perform daily activities. A person with dementia has two or more specific difficulties, including decline in memory, reasoning, language, coordination, mood and behaviour.
Causes of dementia include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and is characterised by the formation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, leading to the progressive degeneration of brain cells and memory loss.
The primary focus of dementia treatment in recent decades has remained on managing symptoms and slowing the progression of the pathology underlying dementia. There has been no development of a cure for the diseases that cause dementia. The global dementia drugs market size was valued at more than US$8.7 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach US$19.7 billion by 20231, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2022 to 2031.
