Berlin Cures Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board

- ZUG, Switzerland, May 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Drug developer Berlin Cures today announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the appointment of its first two members, Prof. Beda M. Stadler and Prof. Wilhelm Vetter, to help advance the clinical development of BC 007, the first drug designed to target the autoimmune cause of heart failure as well as the symptoms of the disease. "The formation of our SAB beginning with Profs. Stadler and Vetter continues the promising clinical development trajectory of BC 007," said Dr. Johannes Müller, founder and president of the Board of Directors of Berlin Cures Holding AG. "The Phase 2A clinical study of BC 007 will begin this July and is based on positive Phase 1 results that found the drug to be effective and well-tolerated. Further, our SAB will assist in the diversification of our pipeline through the development of additional drug candidates targeting other diseases with autoimmune pathology, such as pulmonary hypertension and chronic fatigue syndrome." Inaugural Members:Beda M. Stadler, PhD. Prof. Stadler was the Director of the Institute of Immunology at the University of Bern. He is known for his research in the field of allergy and autoimmunity, preparation of recombinant antibodies and development of therapeutic vaccines. He is also a publicly-known personality as he contributed columns for several print media and participated in many TV talk shows concerning health issues. Wilhelm Vetter, MD. Prof. Vetter was Specialist in Internal Medicine (Internist) in Chief and held the Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Zurich for many years. During his career, he has published numerous scientific book contributions and hundreds of scientific articles in the field of cardiovascular research in renowned scientific journals covering both the basics of circulatory regulation (renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system) and clinical research. As Principal Investigator he was head of many clinical studies. His research activities form the basis of almost all modern drugs in the field of blood pressure regulation. His work has a special and still ongoing significance in defining what is a normal and a pathologically high blood pressure. In this context, Prof. Vetter is still eager to find out the actual cause of heart failure. Prof. Stadler commented, "I'm pleased to join the Scientific Advisory Board of this accomplished company. Berlin Cures has already been able to prove the positive neutralizing effect of respective blood washing methods and now, with a specific drug, aims at neutralizing autoantibodies in a direct manner. As an immunologist, I am glad that functional autoantibodies will finally find their way into the clinic, given they have been known for years but have not been taken seriously. Being able to help patients affected by autoantibodies gives a special satisfaction." Prof. Vetter added, "Berlin Cures is the international leader in research on functional autoantibodies against G-protein coupled receptors. In fact, BC 007 is the first drug that fights the cause of cardiac failure rather than just addressing the symptoms thereof. Working with the team at Berlin Cures will enable me to support the development of revolutionary therapies that eliminate the cause of heart failure and of other yet non-curable medical diseases." BC 007 is a DNA aptamer-based compound that binds to and eliminates pathogenic autoantibodies directed against the beta-1 adrenoceptor, a receptor belonging to the large family of cell surface receptors known as G-protein coupled receptors that regulate the heart's rate and contraction strength. Heart cells are harmed by autoantibodies that chronically bind to these receptors in a process that has been found to lead to heart cell death and organ failure in 80 percent of dilated cardiomyopathy patients. BC 007 is currently completing a Phase 1 clinical study for the treatment of cardiomyopathy (NCT02955420). About Berlin CuresBerlin Cures Holding AG, a privately-held company founded in 2014 and based in Zug, Switzerland, is establishing a new generation of treatments based on research of autoimmune diseases conducted at the renowned Charité Berlin and at the Max-Delbrueck-Center in Berlin for over a quarter of a century. The focus is to develop treatments for diseases with autoimmune pathology in which functional autoantibodies directed against G-protein-coupled receptors of different types play a significant role. With over 1000 different sub-types, the family of G-protein-receptors constitutes the largest protein super-family with the physiological ability to sense molecules outside the cell. Berlin Cures holds the IP for a platform of aptamers that bind to and neutralize these functional autoantibodies, which play an important role in the pathophysiology of several autoimmune-diseases. Recent studies involving heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, chronic fatigue syndrome, pre-eclampsia and a significant number of other diseases have shown that these functional autoantibodies play a highly underestimated role in disease development and sustenance. Neutralizing these autoantibodies can lead to substantial improvements in treatment. For more information, http://www.berlincures.ch. Media Contacts:Berlin Cures Holding AGRaffaela [email protected] 78 215 42 00 Russo Partners, LLCMaggie [email protected](646) 942-5631 (Office)(914) 960-2092 (Mobile)