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Breakthrough in the Fight Against ALS

Breakthrough in the Fight Against ALS

April 12, 2012

Medical Research, Press Releases

Transparent 3d head of the person - x-rayBEER-SHEVA, April 12, 2012 — A patented breakthrough treatment for neurodegenerative diseases developed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers has secured more than $1 million from Toucan Capital, a private U.S. biotech fund based in Baltimore, Maryland.

BGN Technologies, the University’s tech transfer company, signed the research and licensing agreement with Toucan Capital, managed by Linda Powers, which holds a significant portfolio of stem-cell and regenerative medicine companies.

Professor Esther Priel, director of the School for Medical Laboratory Sciences at BGU, has developed chemical compounds that boost an enzyme, telomerase, which slows the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in laboratory mice. Priel, also of BGU’s Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology and Immunology, showed that the compounds raise the levels of telomerase in human cells, stem cells and lab mice.

In Priel’s new research study, which was published in the EMBO Molecular Medicine Journal, the research group shows that the compound can reach the brain and the spinal cord and increase the production of the protein enzyme telomerase.

“By injecting the compound into mice which are developing ALS, we can successfully delay the development of the disease and increase the lifespan of the mice,” Priel explains.  “This is a scientific breakthrough since these compounds have great potential fighting neurodegenerative and other aging-related diseases.”

Other researchers involved in the studies are Prof. Aviv Gazit and Prof. Shimon Slavin, director of the International Center for Cell Therapy and Cancer Immunotherapy (CTCI) in Tel Aviv.

About BGN Technologies Ltd.
BGN Technologies is the technology transfer company of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, responsible for the commercialization of know-how and inventions of the University’s researchers. Through the development of novel technologies and creative partnering with industry and investors, BGN files worldwide patent applications and manages BGU’s large patent portfolio.

About Toucan Capital
Toucan Capital Fund II, L.P. specializes in seed, early stage, and growth capital investments. It also participates in select late stage investments. The fund prefers to invest in life science and advanced technology in fuel cells, advanced batteries for mobile applications, electronic components, network security, biological products, drug delivery technologies, microbiology, and protein and genome sequence products.

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion’s vision, creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University’s expertise locally and around the globe. With some 20,000 students on campuses in Beer-Sheva, Sde Boker and Eilat in Israel’s southern desert, BGU is a university with a conscience, where the highest academic standards are integrated with community involvement, committed to sustainable development of the Negev.

Media Contact:
Andrew Lavin
A. Lavin Communications
516-944-4486
[email protected]

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.

About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.

We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.

BGU at a glance:  

20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.

 

For all press inquiries, please contact:

James Fattal, J Cubed Communications

516.289.1496

[email protected]