Multi-target directed ligand drug development pipeline for Alzheimer's Disease

This technology is a preclinical tool for generating multi-target directed ligands (MTDLs) which bind several Alzheimer’s Disease related targets.

Unmet Need: Effective multi-target directed ligand development to treat complex disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a complex neurodegenerative disease with multiple pathological mechanisms acting in concert. Multi-target directed ligands (MTDLs) are drugs that act against multiple targets, which have shown promise in treating complex diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Currently available MTDL development methods are time-consuming and costly, creating a need for a more time and resource effective pipeline for MTDL development.

The Technology: Effective multi-target directed ligand development pipeline for Alzheimer’s Disease

This technology is a preclinical tool to both synthesize and test develop multi-target directed ligands (MTDL) using a combination of in vitro and in vivo zebrafish preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease models. These methods are more cost-effective than existing MTDL development approaches and can be scaled up as a high-throughput approach to more effectively synthesize and test large sets of compounds for therapeutic benefit in Alzheimer’s Disease and other multifactorial diseases.

This technology has been used to successfully identify and test novel MTDL compounds for a variety of disease targets including cholinesterases, sigma receptors, P2X receptors, and glutamate receptors

Applications:

• Multi-target directed ligands (MTDL) drug development pipeline for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
• Preclinical AD model
• In vivo toxicity screens
• Biomarker identification
• MTDL drug development pipeline for other multifactorial diseases
• Tool to synthesize and test small molecules and peptides targeting a variety of proteins including receptors, enzymes, and regulatory molecules

Advantages:

• High-throughput platform for testing newly synthesized compounds for Alzheimer’s Disease
• Cost-effective
• Faster approach to drug development
• Potential to expand to drug development for other multifactorial diseases

Lead Inventor:

Caghan Kizil, PhD

Patent Information:

Patent Pending

Related Publications:

• Turgutalp B, Kizil C. Multi-target drugs for Alzheimer's disease. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2024 Jun 8;S0165-6147(24): 00097-X.

• Turgutalp B, Bhattarai P, Ercetin T, Luise C, Reis R, Gurdal EE, Isaak A, Biriken D, Dinter E, Sipahi H, Schepmann D, Junker A, Wünsch B, Sippl W, Gulcan HO, Kizil C, Yarim M. “Discovery of Potent Cholinesterase Inhibition-Based Multi-Target-Directed Lead Compounds for Synaptoprotection in Alzheimer's Disease”. J Med Chem. 2022 Sep 22;65(18): 12292-12318.

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU23156, CU23303

• Licensing Contact: Sara Gusik