National Institute on Aging Selects SRI International to Qualify Alzheimer's Drug Candidates for Clinical Studies

Five-Year, $6.3M Contract to Conduct Preclinical Safety Assessments

MENLO PARK, Calif.-November 15, 2004-Under a five-year contract totaling approximately $6.3 million, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) has selected independent research institute SRI International to evaluate the preclinical safety and pharmacology of potential therapeutics for treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other diseases associated with aging. NIA will use SRI's preclinical studies to support Investigational New Drug (IND) applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to perform clinical studies. The primary objective of the program is to perform safety and pharmacokinetics testing of therapeutic agents.  

"NIA has placed a high priority on preclinical safety testing for potential new drugs that are directed at treating aging-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Karen Steinmetz, SRI principal investigator. "Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's will continue to increase as the population ages.  Today, there are very few drugs on the market that treat the symptoms of these diseases effectively, and almost nothing on the market has been identified to cure or reverse these neurological processes.  The NIA program offers the potential to develop new drugs and increase the likelihood of bringing them to the clinic in a timely manner."

Jon Mirsalis, Ph.D., acting vice president of SRI's Biosciences Division and director of SRI's Toxicology and Pharmacology Laboratory, indicated this program reflects NIA's continuing interest in developing life-saving therapeutics.  "The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have had programs in place for many years that support preclinical development of life-saving drugs and vaccines.   More recently, other NIH institutes like NIA and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have developed programs to assist researchers in bridging 'the valley of death'-the gap between an interesting discovery and a drug that is ready for use in humans." 

In addition to this recent award, SRI has four other contracts with the NIA that cover all aspects of preclinical development including pharmacology, chemical synthesis, manufacture of active ingredients, formulation design, and clinical product manufacturing.   SRI has similar programs in place with the NCI for cancer therapy and chemoprevention; NIAID's AIDS and biodefense programs, the NIMH; and the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestion, and Kidney Disease (NIDDK). SRI is one of the largest preclinical safety/pharmacology contractors to the NIH.

About SRI International Biosciences Division

SRI's Biosciences Division works with government agencies and commercial pharmaceutical companies to provide a broad range of preclinical drug discovery and development services, including medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis, regulatory support, efficacy and safety evaluations, pharmacokinetics and metabolism studies, analytical chemistry and formulation design and production in GLP and cGMP environments. The division specializes in cancer, infectious disease and neurobiological research.   SRI's Biosciences Division is awarded more than $30 million in research funding each year by its government and commercial clients.  

About SRI International

Silicon Valley-based SRI International (http://www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for more than 55 years. The nonprofit research institute performs contract research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies.

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