[news 2005-2006]

Alzheimer’s technology from Queen’s University licensed to Q-RNA Inc.

For immediate release

June 8, 2006

KINGSTON, ON -- A library of chemical compounds targeting Alzheimer’s disease developed at Queen’s University has been licensed to Q-RNA Inc. of New York, by PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer office of Queen’s.

The compounds, which target toxic amyloid deposits related to Alzheimer’s disease and other inflammatory conditions, were developed by Dr. Donald Weaver during his tenure with the Departments of Medicine and Chemistry at Queen’s University. Currently Professor of Clinical Neurology and Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience at Dalhousie University, Dr. Weaver continues to advance his drug discovery work in the area of chronic neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy.

The Q-RNA license will provide more than $100,000 annually in research support for Dr. Weaver’s laboratory. Future proceeds resulting from the agreement will be shared equally between Queen’s University and Dalhousie University.

“We are very excited about this collaboration. We have developed what we feel will be disease-modifying drug candidates for protein-misfolding diseases,” says L. William McIntosh, CEO of Q-RNA Inc. “Dr. Weaver’s medicinal chemistry expertise, combined with our company’s biological discovery and validation systems, hold great promise for the development of treatments that may slow down, interrupt, cure or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease.”

“This three-party arrangement has been a wonderful demonstration to industry of how multiple institutions can work together and a deal can be realized that ensures a promising technology is further developed,” says Anne Vivian-Scott, Director of Commercial Development at PARTEQ Innovations. “We are delighted to have been involved with Dalhousie in this endeavour.”

“This collaboration demonstrates that Dr. Weaver continues to lead his field in the search for new approaches to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Dr. Ronald Layden, Executive Director of Industry Liaison and Innovation at Dalhousie University. “Dr. Weaver’s research has also led to significant commercialization returns, both at Queen’s and now at Dalhousie.”

About Dr. Donald Weaver
Dr. Donald Weaver is Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience at Dalhousie University and is professor of clinical neurology at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax. From 1999-2001 he was Head, Division of Neurology and Chief of Clinical Service at Queen’s University, where he was cross-appointed to the departments of Chemistry and Medicine from 1989-2001. Dr. Weaver has received numerous honours for his research, the most recent being the Research Excellence Award, presented in April, 2006 by BioNova, the Nova Scotia Biotechnology and Life Sciences Industry Association. Other awards include the Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutics Research Award from The Canadian Society for Chemistry; the S. Weir Mitchell Award from the American Academy of Neurology (Boston, 1992); the Gowers Prize from the International League Against Epilepsy (Glasgow, 1993); and Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award (Toronto, 1996).

About Q-RNA Inc.:
Q-RNA Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on drug discovery tools, drug discovery and development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other protein-misfolding disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Type II Diabetes.
http://www.q-rna.com/index.htm