Cortex Gets Grant for Drug for Brain Cell Regeneration

IRVINE —  Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company founded by three neuroscientists from UC Irvine, said Wednesday that it has received a federal grant to begin developing a drug that may regenerate brain cells destroyed by Alzheimer’s disease and strokes.

Kathleen Cavanaugh, the lead biochemist on the research project at the Irvine firm, said the $45,000 grant from the U.S. Public Health Service will fund the first phase of study to be completed by the end of the year.

Cortex, she said, plans to expand upon the laboratory research of Carl W. Cotman, a professor of psychobiology at UC Irvine who co-founded the company in 1987.

Several years ago, Cotman identified a chemical compound that helps to spur the growth of neurons in the brain that are critical to enabling memory and other brain functions, Cavanaugh said.

“These neurons die in people with Alzheimer’s disease and after strokes and heart attacks, when the blood supply is cut off to the brain,” she said.

Under the grant, she said, Cortex will develop and study structurally similar compounds in search of one that would have optimum therapeutic value.

“We are testing the compounds on brain neurons in petri dishes to see if they help the neurons survive longer,” she said.

An important advantage of the family of chemical compounds being investigated, Cavanaugh said, is that they can be absorbed into the brain through the blood system and could be administered as a pill.

If the first phase of research is successful, Cavanaugh said, the company will apply for a “second phase” Small Business Innovation Research grant of up to $500,000 from the Public Health Service to conduct more extensive laboratory tests.