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National Institute of Aging Funding to Study the Beneficial Effects of SIRT1 Activation on Diseases of Aging

Posted on: Thursday, 6 September 2007, 09:10 CDT

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SIRT), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to treat diseases of aging, announced today the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Institute of Aging (NIA). Sirtris and its academic collaborators were awarded funding to study the effects of one of its new chemical entities (NCEs) on diseases of aging in mice. The NCE, which is structurally distinct from, and significantly more potent than Sirtris' proprietary resveratrol product (SRT501), will be tested in aging mice.

"With the NIA as a partner, Sirtris is embarking on a comprehensive testing program to determine if many diseases of aging may be treatable with its novel SIRT1 activators. Diseases being evaluated include metabolic, neurological, and inflammatory disorders, and cancer. In collaboration with Sirtris, we saw beneficial effects on healthspan of mammals with resveratrol as published in Nature and Cell in late 2006. The next step is to determine the effects of these new Sirtris compounds which are significantly more potent than resveratrol," said David A. Sinclair, Ph.D. scientific co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals.

"We are delighted to be working with the NIA on this important study testing the effects of SIRT1 activation in aging mice with one of our new chemical entities. This is another step forward in advancing our NCE platform of SIRT1 activators for diseases of aging," said Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals.

About New Chemical Entities (NCEs)

New chemical entities which activate SIRT1 are structurally unrelated to and significantly more potent than SRT501, an improved formulation of resveratrol. SIRT1 is a member of the human sirtuin family of enzymes. Specifically, NCEs act by increasing mitochondrial activity in pre-clinical models of disease, and we believe they may be therapeutic for metabolic diseases like Type 2 Diabetes as well as other diseases of aging such as neurological and inflammatory disorders, and cancer.

About Sirtuins

Sirtuins are a recently-discovered family of enzymes that appear to regulate certain beneficial effects of calorie restriction. There are seven human sirtuins (SIRT1-7), each having a different sub-cellular localization. Sirtris believes that sirtuins are attractive drug targets since some have a specialized function in mitochondrial activity which may be therapeutically beneficial for metabolic and other diseases. By harnessing a natural process, Sirtris believes sirtuin therapeutics offer the potential for a novel class of drugs that can treat significant diseases of aging in a new way.

About Sirtris Pharmaceuticals

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing proprietary, orally available, small molecule drugs with the potential to treat diseases associated with aging, including metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes. Our drug candidates are designed to mimic certain beneficial health effects of calorie restriction, without requiring a change in eating habits, by activation of sirtuins, a recently discovered class of enzymes that control the aging process. The company's headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, the potential therapeutic effects of SIRT1 activators for diseases of aging, such as Type 2 Diabetes and disorders, such as MELAS, the progress and results of pre-clinical studies of SIRT1 activators, and the potential of sirtuin modulators to receive regulatory approval. These forward-looking statements about future expectations, plans and prospects of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including risks related to the lack of results that would provide a basis for predicting whether any of the Company's product candidates will be safe or effective, or receive regulatory approval, the possibility that results of pre-clinical studies are not necessarily predictive of clinical trial results, the Company's potential inability to initiate and complete pre-clinical studies and clinical trials for its product candidates, the fact that none of the Company's product candidates has received regulatory approvals, the potential inability of the Company to gain market acceptance of the Company's product candidates, and those other risks factors that can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those Sirtris Pharmaceuticals contemplated by these forward-looking statements. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release.

Source: Business Wire

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