Alzheimer's Club

Nymox (NASDAQ: NYMX) Has Global Patent Rights for Statin Drugs for the Treatment and Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (Benjamin Wolozin, Inventor)

Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ: NYMX) holds U.S. and global patent rights for the use of statin drugs for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including for patients at risk for AD because of vascular-related risk factors or disease. Statins are a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs that are the biggest-selling prescription pills in pharmaceutical history with estimated 2004 global sales of up to $26 billion. Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly, afflicting an estimated 4.5 million people in the U.S. alone.

The potential for statin drugs to treat or reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been bolstered by several recently published studies and reviews in leading medical and scientific journals. One study followed 3,334 people over the age of 65 for an average of seven years and found that regular statin use was associated with a rate of deterioration less than half of that of untreated patients (Neurology 2005; 65:1388-1394).

A second three year study of 342 AD patients found evidence that statins slowed the progression of AD (J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 2005; 76:1624-1629).

Recent expert articles reviewing the clinical and scientific evidence in the field have also highlighted the potential of statin drugs for the treatment or prevention of AD: The American Journal of Medicine 2005; 118: 48S-53S; The Lancet Neurology 2005; 4:841-852; Current Opinions in Lipidology 2005;16: 619-623; The Lancet Neurology 2005; 4: 521-2.

The potential of statin drugs to help in the treatment and prevention of AD was the subject of a recent article in Chemistry & Industry (Issue 2, 2006). The potential of statin drugs for AD has also been featured in a cover story in Newsweek, as well as in the New York Times, Fortune, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

The potential use of statins to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been widely reported in the peer-reviewed medical literature, both in terms of clinical data, (such as Arch Neurol (2005; 62:1047-51); Neurology (2005; 64:1531-8); Arch Neurol (2005; 62:753-7); J Neurol Sci (2005; 229-230:147-50); Arch Gen Psychiatry (2005; 62:217-24)) and possible mechanisms through which statins may prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease (such as J Neurosci Res (2005; 82:10-19); J Biol Chem (2005; M505268200); PLoS Med (2005; 2:e18); J Neurosci (2005; 25:299-307)).

More information about Nymox is available at www.nymox.com, email: info@nymox.com, or 800-936-9669.
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" as defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and the actual results and future events could differ materially from management's current expectations. The conduct of clinical trials and the development of drug products involve substantial risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from expectations. Promising early results do not ensure that later stage or larger scale clinical trials will be successful or will proceed as expected. Such factors are detailed from time to time in Nymox's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities.

Source: Statin Drug Potential for Alzheimer's Disease Gains Ground with Recent Studies. CCNMatthews (8 March 2006) [FullText]