ProteoTech, Tasly Pharmaceuticals to develop Alzheimer’s drug

KIRKLAND, Wash. Privately owned drug-development company ProteoTech will work with a Chinese company to develop a drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease, ProteoTech said Monday.

The Kirkland, Wash.-based company announced a deal with Tianjin, China-based Tasly Pharmaceuticals to develop the drug Exebryl-1. The drug has been shown to inhibit the formation of proteins in the brain associated with the disease. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though the companies said it would include an upfront payment, development costs and research funding. Tasly will gain rights to Exebryl-1 in China, while ProteoTech will have rights to it in the rest of the world, including the United States.

“We are very happy with this opportunity to work with the team at ProteoTech, and we feel that Exebryl-1 will become a very important medication in China against the growing epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease,” Tasly Pharmaceuticals president Henry Sun said.