The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) Invests in the Development of a Novel Dementia Biomarker with Ultimate Medicine
Ultimate Medicine Advances Biomarker Development to Fuel Drug Development Program
ZURICH, Switzerland, November 15th, 2023 — Ultimate Medicine AG, a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of people with chronic age-related cognitive impairment such as dementia, announced today that the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s (ADDF) Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA) is investing in the company’s study to verify the value of delta-valerobetaine (dVB) as a relevant biomarker in cognitively impaired patients. The study supports Ultimate Medicine’s drug development programs and is designed to bring forward a novel direct neurodegenerative biomarker. A simple neurodegenerative biomarker can enable the development of emerging disease-modifying treatments, stratify patients for clinical development, and benefit patients on a large scale via early detection and monitoring.
Ultimate Medicine has identified dVB, a serum metabolite that directly affects early-stage neurodegenerative processes and increases with age in humans. The objective of the effort supported by this ADDF funding is to validate the diagnostic utility of dVB, which the company will utilize to support development of a therapeutic that modulates the neurodegenerative processes affected by the metabolite to slow or reverse dementia symptoms. The dVB serum metabolite has been found to have a direct effect on brain functioning such as memory and learning in animal models. Ultimate Medicine’s drug development program is focused on inhibiting the effect of the metabolite on neurodegenerative processes.
“With our expertise in characterizing novel pathways for cognitive impairment, we are focused on a rational approach to designing and rapidly advancing effective treatment options and simple biomarker tests that have the potential to improve clinical outcomes and reduce patient burden for people with dementia,” says Antal Szalay, Chief Executive Officer of Ultimate Medicine. “Now, with the support of the ADDF and others, we can more quickly advance our drug development process and design simple diagnostic tools to support early diagnoses and clinical trial efficiency.”
To develop tailored, novel, disease-modifying therapies for dementia patients, underlying neurodegenerative processes need to be identified early so that treatments can have a meaningful impact on disease management and patient stratification for clinical trials. Ultimate Medicine is designing treatments that have the potential to improve clinical outcomes in chronic age-related cognitive impairment and dementias.
“Alzheimer’s disease is caused by several pathologies linked to the underlying biology of the disease. Given that gut-derived metabolites are indicative of age-related chronic disease and overall well-being, this is an important pathway for researchers to explore so we can better understand the connection between bioactive metabolites and cognitive decline,” says Howard Fillit, MD, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at the ADDF. “Gut-based biomarkers like dVB show promising potential for aiding in the early detection, diagnosis and intervention of Alzheimer’s as well as for enabling a broader precision medicine approach based on individuals’ personalized biomarker profiles.”
About Ultimate Medicine
Ultimate Medicine AG, is a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapeutics to treat chronic age related cognitive impairment like dementia. Ultimate Medicine leverages its leading expertise in detecting and modifying bioactive serum metabolites that lead to chronic age-related disease. Because the company utilizes an in-vivo approach to identify novel drug targets, it believes the resulting therapeutics will be more successful in clinical studies. The company is developing therapeutics modifying a set of mechanisms that change with age and precede neurodegeneration. Ultimate Medicine is developing medicines with the potential to have a life-changing impact on patients and their families by improving relevant clinical symptoms of cognitive impairment. Ultimate Medicine is privately held in Zurich, Switzerland. To learn more, visit https://www.ultimatemedicine.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
About The Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA)
The Diagnostics Accelerator, created in July 2018, is a $100 million global research initiative from partners including ADDF Co-Founder Leonard A. Lauder, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, the Dolby family, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, among others, to develop novel biomarkers for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. This research initiative is dedicated to accelerating the development of affordable and accessible biomarkers to diagnose Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and advance the clinical development of more targeted treatments. Through translational research awards and access to consulting support from industry experts, this program will challenge, assist and fund the research community in both academia and industry to develop novel peripheral and digital biomarkers.
Company Contact:
Antal Szalay, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, Ultimate Medicine AG, team@ultimatemedicine.com