May 1, 2020 — Phoenix, AZ — CND Life Sciences, an innovative medical technology company pioneering the detection, visualization, and quantification of protein deposition in cutaneous nerve fibers, is launching an investigator-initiated clinical study sponsored by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) to detect and study changes in abnormal aggregation of a protein that is key to understanding Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

CND’s study will examine how the protein called TDP-43 changes in nerve fibers of the skin in response to MTPA’s drug edaravone (brand name Radicava). CND recently launched a cutaneous test to detect the abnormal deposition of a protein called alpha-synuclein to aid in the diagnosis of a synucleinopathy like Parkinson’s disease. CND will apply its proprietary testing techniques in similar ways to accomplish the study goals. “We are excited to receive support from MTPA to take on this important challenge,” says Todd Levine, MD, co-founder and medical director of CND Life Sciences. “If we can develop an effective, minimally invasive test that not only identifies TDP-43 in skin but also analyzes how it responds to therapy over time, we will have made notable strides in understanding ALS’s disease pathway and ways to modify it.”

Considered a rare disorder with fewer than 20,000 patient cases each year, ALS is a progressive neurological disease that is marked by major deterioration in motor neurons that affect the muscular system and physical functions as a whole. The survival period for most patients is between two to five years from diagnosis and there is no cure. Current drug therapies like edaravone are intended to slow disease progression and the loss of physical function. Future drug discoveries may have the ability to modify the disease itself with beZer understanding of how and when key proteins abnormally aggregate and targeting therapies around those processes. “We are grateful for MTPA’s sponsorship of this investigator-initiated trial and look forward to conducting the work in the months ahead,” says Levine.