Resveratrol Studies Suggest Broad Implications for SIRT1 Activation in Neurodegenerative Eye Disorders
31 July 2007 - 10:00PM
Business Wire
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRT), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs
to treat diseases of aging, announced today that activation of
SIRT1, a member of the sirtuin family of enzymes, was shown to be
neuroprotective in an animal model of optic neuritis. These
findings appear in an article published in Volume 48, Number 8 of
The Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science Journal (IOVS),
Shindler et al., 2007 entitled �SIRT1 Activation Confers
Neuroprotection in Experimental Optic Neuritis.� The progressive
loss of neurons with age may underlie a variety of debilitating
neurological disorders including optic neuritis, one of the first
signs of multiple sclerosis, which has been associated with reduced
mitochondrial function. Sirtuins are a recently discovered class of
enzymes that appear to affect the aging process in mammals and
increase the number and function of mitochondria. According to the
findings in this paper, resveratrol, a SIRT1 activator reduced the
loss of retinal ganglion cells and preserved axonal function in a
pre-clinical model of optic neuritis. A single intravitreal dose of
SRT501, Sirtris� proprietary formulation of resveratrol, was
sufficient for neuroprotection. Furthermore, this neuroprotective
effect was shown to be SIRT1 dependent because it was blocked by
sirtinol, a SIRT1 inhibitor. The authors of the IOVS article
include Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Senior Vice President, Head
of Development, Peter Elliott, Ph.D. and Sirtris Scientific
Advisory Board member, Kenneth Shindler, M.D., F.M. Kirby Center
for Molecular Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology,
University of Pennsylvania Scheie Eye Institute, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. �This work is significant because it shows that a
SIRT1 activator is neuroprotective and thus has the potential to be
therapeutic for a range of neurodegenerative diseases of aging,�
said Peter Elliott, Ph.D. Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. added, �These
new data support our belief in SIRT1 as a therapeutic target for a
broad range of diseases of aging including metabolic,
mitochondrial, and neurological disorders.� Online copies of the
article can be obtained at: http://www.iovs.org About Sirtris
Pharmaceuticals Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical
company focused on discovering and developing proprietary, orally
available, small molecule drugs with the potential to treat
diseases associated with aging, including metabolic diseases such
as Type 2 Diabetes. Our drug candidates are designed to mimic
certain beneficial health effects of calorie restriction, without
requiring a change in eating habits, by activation of sirtuins, a
recently discovered class of enzymes that control the aging
process. The company's headquarters are in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited
to, the potential therapeutic effects of SIRT1 activators for
multiple neurodegenerative diseases and other types of disorders,
the progress and results of pre-clinical studies of SIRT1
activators, and the potential of sirtuin modulators to receive
regulatory approval. These forward-looking statements about future
expectations, plans and prospects of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals
involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including
risks related to the lack of results that would provide a basis for
predicting whether any of the Company�s product candidates will be
safe or effective, or receive regulatory approval, the possibility
that results of pre-clinical studies are not necessarily predictive
of clinical trial results, the Company's potential inability to
initiate and complete pre-clinical studies and clinical trials for
its product candidates, the fact that none of the Company's product
candidates has received regulatory approvals, the potential
inability of the�Company to gain market acceptance of the Company's
product candidates, and those other risks factors�that can be found
in the�Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those Sirtris
Pharmaceuticals contemplated by these forward-looking statements.
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals does not undertake to update any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or
events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release.
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