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Trophix Initiates Neurodegeneration Research Program with Children's Hospital of Boston Program to Discover Signaling Pathways Involved in Neuronal Cell Death Source: PR Newswire SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ via Individual Inc. -- Trophix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced it has initiated a collaboration with the Children's Hospital of Boston on the molecular mechanisms of neuronal cell death as a basis for neurodegenerative disease therapies. The degeneration of neuronal cells is associated with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well as dementia, stroke and head trauma. Trophix has a license from the Children's Hospital on discoveries which relate to certain signaling pathways that are involved in programmed cell death (apoptosis) in neurons. The lead investigator for the program is Dr. Michael E. Greenberg, Director, Division of Neuroscience, Children's Hospital and Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School. "The first generation of therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease provides only symptomatic treatment by replacement therapy," said Dr. Jeffrey F. McKelvy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trophix. "While neurotrophic factors are known to promote neuronal survival and protection from cell death, delivery of these substances to the brain is difficult. We are pursuing an alternative approach, that focuses on the regulation of intracellular pathways in neuronal degeneration or cell death. We believe this approach can lead to the development of orally active compounds that prevent or delay neurons from undergoing degeneration and therefore block disease progression." The Company's other major research and development programs are in neuropathic pain, including a collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica, N.V. and in antipsychotic drug discovery, where Trophix intends to initiate clinical trials in 1997. The Company also has a long-term program, Targeted NeuroGenomics, for drug discovery in schizophrenia and neuroinflammation. Trophix, headquartered in South Plainfield, NJ, was founded in 1993 to discover, develop, and commercialize new therapies for the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system. Initial capital was provided by HealthCare Investment Corporation. Other investors include: Atlas Venture, Oak Investment Partners, The CIT Group/Venture Capital, Dominion Ventures and Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation. SOURCE Trophix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. /CONTACT: William B. O'Connor, Vice President and CFO of Trophix Pharmaceuticals, 908-561-0303, ext. 215; or Barbara Lindheim, ext. 237 or Neil Cohen, ext. 205, both of Noonan/Russo Communications, 212-696-4455/ [11-01-96 at 08:30 EST, PR Newswire]