[news 2003-2004]

CIHR funds Queen's cholesterol research

For immediate release

March 17, 2003

KINGSTON, ON -- Dr. Robert Kisilevsky (departments of Pathology and Biochemistry) has received nearly $100,000 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to further his research into novel means of preventing atherosclerosis, the major cause of coronary heart disease.

The funding, from CIHR's Proof of Principle program, enables Drs. Kisilevsky and Shui-Pang Tam (department of Biochemistry) to advance their work in the cholesterol-regulating properties of the amyloid protein Serum Amyloid A, which has shown promising findings in early studies.

"This funding allows us to determine whether our approach can actually reduce, prevent or reverse atherosclerosis in mice," says Dr. Kisilevsky. "Positive findings will enable us to attract seed financing and possibly development partners to advance this discovery to drug design and testing."

Dr. Kisilevsky is a leader in the fields of amyloid research as well as cholesterol and inflammation. His work on the mis-folding of amyloid proteins led to the formation of Neurochem, Inc., a Montreal-based spinoff company of PARTEQ Innovations. Neurochem has a number of drugs in development for the treatment of amyloid-related conditions including Alzheimer's disease, adult-onset (Type II) diabetes, and systemic amyloidosis.

Information:
John Molloy
President & CEO
PARTEQ Innovations
613. 533. 2342