The UK Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association has awarded Oxford BioMedica a grant to support preclinical evaluation of Monudin for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
The grant is initially for £350,000, which will fund a key preclinical efficacy study and support preparations for clinical trials.
The company is targeting the start of clinical development in 2006-07.
Monudin is a novel gene therapy product, which delivers a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene, a neuroprotective factor, using the company's proprietary LentiVector system.
A previous preclinical study of Monudin showed that both onset and progression of disease was slowed and that life expectancy was extended by 30%, representing one of the most effective therapies reported in the field to date.
These results were published in May 2004 in Nature magazine (Volume: 429, Issue: 6990 pp: 413-417).
Oxford BioMedica has previously secured financial support for Monudin from the US ALS Association.
The MND Association and other US and UK charitable organisations are considering further sponsorship that could fund initial clinical trials of Monudin in ALS patients.
ALS causes adult-onset, progressive motor neuron degeneration in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in paralysis and death three to five years after onset in most patients.
There is currently no known cure for motor neurone disease, a condition that affects approximately 100,000 people in Europe and the USA.
Commenting on the grant from the MND Association, Oxford BioMedica's chief executive, professor Alan Kingsman said: "We are very pleased to have received sponsorship from another leading charity".
"This grant from the MND Association provides further endorsement of Monudin's potential as a treatment of ALS, for which there is currently no effective therapy.
"There is considerable interest in this programme from charities and other organisations, which could lead to additional financial support".
