Scientists at King’s College London have identified a promising new Alzheimer’s drug that can tackle several key drivers of the disease at once — including DNA damage and brain inflammation — and it has already cleared initial safety trials in humans.
KCL-286 research (Credits: ScienceDaily)
New Alzheimer’s Drug KCL-286 Repairs DNA Damage
The drug, known as KCL-286, was originally developed for spinal cord injuries. In a mouse model of Alzheimer’s, the King’s College London team found it helped repair breaks in DNA and reduce inflammation — two processes that appear very early in the disease, long before symptoms advance. Unlike treatments focused on the buildup of amyloid-beta and tau proteins, this approach targets additional processes at the disease’s roots.
“Our findings demonstrate that KCL-286 not only targets DNA damage but also reduces inflammation,” said Dr. Maria Goncalves, who project-managed the drug’s development, calling its potential “disease-modifying therapy rather than simply addressing symptoms.”
Why KCL-286 Could Reach Human Trials Faster
The most practical advantage: KCL-286 has already completed Phase 1 human safety and tolerability trials during its earlier development as a spinal cord injury treatment. That could dramatically shorten the traditional multi-year timeline for new drug development, according to Professor Jonathan Corcoran of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.
The drug is also an orally bioavailable small molecule — a pill rather than an injection or infusion — which would make it more convenient than many existing Alzheimer’s therapies. The researchers caution that its effectiveness against Alzheimer’s in humans has not yet been established; the next step is clinical testing specifically for the disease.
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Source: ScienceDaily — read the full story there.
