Icogenex receives ARRA summer supplement
Seattle, Washington (News Release) - July 20, 2009
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, Icogenex received a summer supplement to its National Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Stroke (NINDS) Huntington's disease grant. The summer supplement will support a college intern summer student to assist on the Huntington's disease project. This will provide a laboratory research experience to a college student who may be considering investigative science as a career and additional research effort on Icogenex Huntington's disease project.
Huntington's disease is an inherited autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease characterized by movement disorder, dementia, and psychiatric disturbance which typically develops in the fourth or fifth decade of life with a disease duration of 10 to 25 years. Thirty thousand Americans have Huntington's disease at an annual cost to American society of $2.5 billion with another 250,000 individuals at risk to inherit the disease. There is no cure or preventative for Huntington's disease.
Icogenex was one of a very few small businesses to receive an ARRA summer supplement. "We are most grateful to receive this summer supplement", states Icogenex CEO Frederick S. Hagen. "This may be a career decision point for a promising investigative scientist and it will increase our effort on the Huntington's disease project."
Icogenex is a Seattle-based, privately held company with a goal to identify and commercialize protein effectors as therapeutic drugs. Icogenex is using its technology platform for in-house drug development and to develop projects which may be partnered with other pharmaceutical or biotech companies to assist them in more rapid drug development.
Icogenex receives NINDS grant for Huntington's disease therapeutic development
Seattle, Washington (News Release) - January 5, 2009
Representing an expansion of its platform technology to another disease, Icogenex Corporation announced today that a grant award had been received from National Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Stroke (NINDS) for the development of a Huntington's disease therapeutic drug.
Huntington's disease is an inherited autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease characterized by movement disorder, dementia, and psychiatric disturbance which typically develops in the fourth or fifth decade of life with a disease duration of 10 to 25 years. Thirty thousand Americans have Huntington's disease at an annual cost to American society of $2.5 billion with another 250,000 individuals at risk to inherit the disease. There is no cure or preventative for Huntington's disease.
"We are thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to develop a Huntington's disease therapeutic", states Icogenex CEO, Frederick S. Hagen. "At the present, there is no hope for those individuals destined to develop this debilitating disease. An effective therapeutic directed to the underlying cause of this disease would be life saving for these individuals."
Icogenex is a Seattle-based, privately held company with a goal to identify and commercialize protein effectors as therapeutic drugs. Icogenex is using its technology platform for in-house drug development and to develop projects which may be partnered with other pharmaceutical or biotech companies to assist them in more rapid drug development.
Icogenex receives NIH grant to continue Alzheimer's disease research
Seattle, Washington (News Release) - February 4, 2005
Icogenex Corporation received notification today of a grant award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue its research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) to develop a therapeutic drug for the prevention of AD. This award supports the screening of small molecule chemical libraries to identify a drug that may be developed into an Alzheimer's disease therapeutic.
"The NIH scientific peer review constitutes an important validation of our innovative therapeutic approach Alzheimer's disease therapeutic drug development," states Fredrick S. Hagen, Ph.D., Icogenex's founder and CEO.
Icogenex is a Seattle-based, privately held company with a goal to identify and commercialize protein effectors as therapeutic drugs. Icogenex is using its technology platform for in-house drug development and to develop projects which may be partnered with other pharmaceutical or biotech companies to assist them in more rapid drug development.
Icogenex Corporation adds key scientific advisor to Alzheimer's Disease program
Seattle, Washington (PR Newswire)- October 4, 2004:
Icogenex Corporation announced today that Dr. George M. Martin has agreed to serve as an Icogenex scientific advisor for Icogenex Alzheimer's disease program.
Dr. George M. Martin is an active Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Washington and former long time director of the University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. His current research interests lie in the application of genetic concepts and methodologies to the elucidation of the biology of aging in both humans and a variety of other organisms.
Dr. Martin's current research focuses on three areas: 1) The genetic basis for susceptibility and resistance to Alzheimer's type dementias. 2) The nature of gene action in the pathogenesis of Werner syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive disease. 3) Investigation of DNA damage associated with aging utilizing cell lines and transgenic mice exhibiting resistance to mutagenesis mediated by oxidative damage.
"We are very pleased to add this very experienced individual to the Icogenex team," states Dr. Hagen, president and CEO of Icogenex. "Access to Dr Martin's expertise in the field of Alzheimer's disease research will greatly facilitate the research and development efforts of Icogenex scientists as they work to develop an effective Alzheimer's disease therapeutic. Icogenex is a Seattle-based, privately held company working to identify and develop therapeutic compounds for the treatment of human diseases.
Honors for Dr. Martin's research include the Brookdale, Kleemeier and Paul Glenn Foundation awards of the Gerontological Society of America, the Allied-Signal Corporation Award, the Irving Wright Award of the American Federation for Aging Research, the American Aging Association Medal, and a World Alzheimer Congress Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also received an Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Washington School of Medicine. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and now serves as a Senior Member.
Dr. Martin was a member of the National Advisory Council and the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute on Aging. He currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Buck Institute and the Ellison Medical Foundation and is Editor-in-Chief of a new AAAS/Science WEB site for research on the biology of aging (SAGE KE). Dr. Martin is a Past President of the Tissue Culture Society of America, the American Federation for Aging Research and the Gerontological Society of America.
Icogen Becomes Icogenex
Seattle, Washington (PR Newswire)- February 20, 2004:
Icogen Corporation, a Seattle based biotechnology company, announced today that the company is changing its name to Icogenex Corporation.
The name change reflects a refocusing and re-branding of the company. "We are now a different company from the one founded in 1995," stated Frederick S. Hagen, President & CEO. Historically, Icogen sought to utilize the strength of its core research team to clone, express, and market therapeutic proteins. Presently, Icogenex combines this longstanding expertise with new, proprietary screening methods, and focuses specifically on the development of anti-inflammatory therapeutics as well as the development of an Alzheimer's disease therapeutic.
"The name change marks the start of an exciting new, and directed focus for the company," added Dr. Hagen. "We believe the strength of our internal research and development activities, paired with strategic partnering will allow us to develop and market therapeutic products at a significantly expedited pace."
Icogenex is a Seattle-based, privately held company working to identify and develop therapeutic compounds for the treatment of human diseases.
Icogen Receives SBIR Grant for the Identification
of Alzheimer's Disease Therapeutic
Seattle, Washington (PR Newswire)- July 28, 2003:
Icogen Corporation announced today that it has received an award for a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) to develop an Alzheimer's disease therapeutic. The funded research uses Icogen's ISOPLeCTM technology to target and adjust the level of a key peptide responsible for the development of Alzheimer's disease. ISOPLeCTM is Icogen's proprietary technology for the identification of protein effector compounds. "This is a significant validation of our scientific approach by knowledgeable scientists reviewing the SBIR grant application," comments Frederick S. Hagen, Ph.D., Icogen's founder and CEO.
This grant will further the collaborative efforts between Icogen and BioArctic Neuroscience, of Uppsala, Sweden. The project combines Icogen's ISOPLeCTM technology with the Alzheimer's disease expertise of Prof. Lars Lannfelt of the Uppsala University Hospital, and co-founder of BioArctic Neuroscience.
With more than 10 years of research experience in the field of dementia, Dr. Lannfelt and his laboratory have made key discoveries in the Alzheimer's field with the identification of two human mutations that affect the level of amyloid peptide in the brain. All individuals inheriting these mutations develop early onset Alzheimer's disease, providing strong evidence for the importance of the amyloid peptide to the development of the disease. "We are enthusiastic and excited about this collaboration to develop an Alzheimer's disease therapeutic," states Prof. Lannfelt.
There is a significant and growing need for Alzheimer's disease therapeutics. The disease affects 5 % of people at 65 years of age, 20 % at age 80, and 50 % at age 85. Alzheimer's disease is a large burden to society costing the American public $100 billion in 2002 with this cost expected to escalate with the general aging of the American population. "The business and humanitarian elements of this endeavor are very compelling," proclaims Dr. Gellerfors, CEO and cofounder of BioArctic Neuroscience.
Icogen is a Seattle-based, privately held company identifying and developing commercial proteins and protein effectors as the basis of new treatments for human diseases. To date, Icogen has received $6.1 million in NIH grant funding.
BioArctic Neuroscience is a newly founded biotech company located in Uppsala Science Park, Sweden. The company intends to develop safe and efficacious treatments for Alzheimer's disease by exploring proprietary, unique, disease-specific drug targets.