Aphios has received a phase II SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for $2.4 million over two years. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the NIH, awarded the grant to Aphios to develop an “Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a devastating age-related neurological disorder and is the third leading cause of death in America and among the highest in the industrial world.

Aphios is developing APH-0703, a potent protein kinase C (PKC) modulator that activates the alpha-secretase pathway, which can dramatically enhance the generation of soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP), diminishing plaques and cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer’s.

“We are developing novel formulations of APH-0703 based on Aphios’ proprietary hydrophobic-based formulation and patented SFS-PNS polymer nanospheres technologies,” explained Dr. Trevor P. Castor, president and CEO of Aphios. “After formulation selection, Aphios will manufacture and characterize the API and final drug product following cGMP guidelines, and conduct pre-clinical studies in preparation of filing an IND with the FDA to conduct human clinical trials.

Aphios is collaborating with researchers at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, La. (LSUHSC), which will conduct in vitro and in vivo efficacy, toxicity and pharmacokinetic studies in triple transgenic AD mice.

The project is supported by grant number R44AG034760 from the National Institute on Aging.