Amorfix’s A4 test used successfully in study of EnVivo’s Alzheimer’s drug candidate

EnVivo Pharmaceuticals said today that, as part of a collaborative effort with Amorfix Life Sciences (TSX:AMF), its EVP-0962 drug candidate demonstrated in-vivo reduction of aggregated Abeta or Beta-amyloids in an aged transgenic model of Alzheimer’s disease.

In a statement, closely held EnVivo of Watertown, Mass. said the study results were obtained using Amorfix’s A4 assay for the quantitative detection of aggregated Abeta.

It said the assay can detect accumulation of Abeta in standard Alzheimer’s disease animal models several months before conventional microscopic procedures, accelerating the preclinical screening of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.

Aggregated Abeta is widely considered to be the toxic entity in Alzheimer’s disease.  EnVivo said its drug selectively inhibits the production of the toxic Abeta42 peptide without affecting the total amount of Abeta, and does not affect other proteins required for normal function.