Pfizer Contracts to Test and Market RAGE-Antagonist Drugs

Ann Marie Schmidt, MD

The cell-surface molecule RAGE (Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts) contributes significantly to many ills, including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes complications such as nephropathy, and a host of immune-related disorders. For Ann Marie Schmidt, MD, Chief of the Department of Surgery's Division of Surgical Science, who has been studying RAGE for over a decade, this molecule's ability to trigger such a wide variety of disorders has revealed an unexpectedly unified picture of chronic disease and how it might be medically reversed. After more than 15 years leading basic research on the molecule, Dr. Schmidt is now seeing her efforts pay off in development of therapies for people.

On September 18, 2006, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals contracted to develop and commercialize a set of RAGE-modulating compounds developed by TransTech Pharma, the company that bought rights to Dr. Schmidt's RAGE-modulating research. TransTech has developed several compounds, including those from a larger molecule developed in Dr. Schmidt's lab. The most advanced molecules TransTech has produced are: TTP488, an orally available small-molecule compound that has completed a Phase 2a study in Alzheimer's patients and is currently in a Phase 2 study in patients with diabetic nephropathy; and TTP4000, a large-molecule compound that is expected to soon enter Phase 1 clinical trials.

Through the collaboration with TransTech, Pfizer gains exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize TransTech's portfolio of RAGE modulators in Alzheimer's disease and diabetic nephropathy. Considering the vast scope of potential RAGE-initiated damage to the body, it is likely that Pfizer will soon commence trials of additional applications for the TTP compounds. Click here to read TransTech Pharma's news release.