Woburn, MA, May 14, 2001
AlphaGene, Inc. has announced today that it has
broadened its network of neurological research
agreements with leading academic institutions. This
newest agreement with Wayne State University seeks
to utilize an exciting new surgical approach
designed to identify and surgically remove epileptic
foci in children and adults with epilepsy. Together
with AlphaGene, this collaboration seeks to identify
the genes involved in the disease pathways, locate
logical points of drug intervention, and develop new
therapeutic options in order to provide a better
quality of life for patients with epilepsy.
Wayne State University, through Dr. Jeffrey A. Loeb,
M.D., Ph.D., Department of Neurology and The Center
for Molecular Medicine & Genetics, has developed
technology to identify areas of the brain that
produce epileptic seizures. Although many epileptic
patients can be controlled by medical treatments,
many patients require surgery to reduce or eliminate
life-restricting seizures. As a result of such
surgery, Wayne State has collected an impressive
bank of diseased tissue and is conducting molecular
and genetic research that may aid discovery of the
molecular basis of epilepsy.
AlphaGene is a biotechnology company engaged in
research relating to neurodegenerative diseases,
such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The company has
a powerful suite of technologies to generate and
analyze differential gene expression data. This
analysis will be used to identify genes and disease
pathways responsible for the development of
epilepsy.
Epilepsy and seizures affect approximately 2.3
million Americans of all ages with 181,000 new cases
being reported each year. Besides generating an
estimated annual cost of $12.5 billion, epilepsy has
a high emotional cost and can be devastating to
patients and their families. Epilepsy is often
associated with developmental delay and brain damage
in the approximately 300,000 children under the age
of 14 years affected with the disease.
"We are pleased to announce this scientific
collaboration with Wayne State University's School
of Medicine. Epilepsy is a very serious and
destructive disease and Wayne State is in the
vanguard of epilepsy research." said Donald J.
McCarren, Ph.D., President and CEO of AlphaGene.
"We believe that by combining our technologies
and expertise, we will gain a better insight into
the genetic causes of the disease."
"We are dedicated to making the lives of our
epileptic patients better and more productive. A
greater understanding of the disease process and
causes will certainly move us further in that
direction." said Dr. Loeb. "Our
collaboration with AlphaGene will help propel us
into the forefront of the human functional genomics
field and will greatly enhance our ability to
understand and treat epilepsy through high quality
differential gene expression and genomic
technologies."
About AlphaGene, Inc.
AlphaGene, Inc. (http://www.alphagene.com)
is a privately held functional genomics company
offering products and services to biotech and
pharmaceutical companies engaged in drug discovery and
development. AlphaGene uses its large inventory of
full-length cDNAs and Bioinformatics expertise to
bridge the gap between genomics and functional
proteomics. The company focuses on differential gene
expression in degenerative neurological diseases
including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
Diseases.
About Wayne State University
Wayne State University (http://www.wayne.edu)is
a premier research institution offering more than 350
academic programs through 14 schools and colleges to
more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit. It
is one of the nation's leading research
universities, ranking 46th among public
universities in research expenditures and
64th overall.
