Neurological diseases and pain are fields that struggle with great medical needs, including the lack of broad-spectrum drugs. Those are gaps in the market that AlzeCure Pharma wants to fill, and they are well on their way. They recently received a grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) to finance a clinical phase 2 study of the drug candidate NeuroRestore ACD856 for Alzheimer’s disease. This gives both hope and great opportunities to continue the company’s journey towards becoming a leading player in neuroscience research and development, to create value for patients and society. We sat down together with CEO Martin Jönsson for a conversation about the significance of the grant, the company’s future and what drives them forward in their work.

Flemingsberg based AlzeCure Pharma has a broad portfolio to say the least. Through three platforms, they conduct research and development of small molecule drug therapies for the treatment of diseases that affect the central nervous system, including Alzheimer’s disease and within the pain area. When we meet up with Martin Jönsson he, rightly so, speaks enthusiastically about a bright future. And it´s very much thanks to the grant they received from the EIC this year, as the only Swedish biotech pharma company.

– This is a fantastic validation of what we are capable of creating and developing. This is a project that is based on a unique idea that the company had, and based on it we have developed molecules that we have tested in numerous preclinical experiments before taking the step into humans. With the grant we can now test it in Alzheimer’s patients, says Martin Jönsson.

The drug candidate NeuroRestore ACD856 has shown promising results in improving cognitive functions in patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the clinical studies that have been conducted so far. In 80 healthy volunteer patients almost no negative side effects were shown, and it was seen that it activates parts of the brain that are central to cognition, learning and memory capacity.

– What we´ve seen is an improved learning and memory capacity, an increased ability to learn new things and a better ability to both store and recall what has been learned. It is fascinating that we can influence all three phases that exist when creating a memory.

In other words, the promising results can constitute an important part of the global fight against Alzheimer’s disease, where Martin Jönsson sees that AlzeCure Pharma has an important role to play as a company.

– There are many different neurodegenerative diseases where you have a reduced cognitive ability, Alzheimer’s is one and Parkinson’s is another. We see that we can be an alternative and help, and hopefully also help to improve brain health.

The journey to where the company is today started in 2012. Back then as a foundation, founded through collaboration with researchers from AstraZeneca, the Alzheimer’s Foundation and Professor Bengt Winblad from Karolinska Institutet. Their home has always been Flemingsberg, and when asked what the area means to them, Martin Jönsson highlights two crucial factors – a feeling of being a startup that they want to cherish, and the access to the unique facilities with labs and units on site.

– If it weren’t for the Alzheimer’s Foundation, with support from Professor Bengt Winblad who was a world-leading neurologist at Karolinska, we probably wouldn’t be here today. The Alzheimer’s Foundation has been very important to us because they provided us with financial resources for many years, and we have continued a very positive and important collaboration with them, as well as with Bengt Winblad.

Perhaps it is not so strange that a pioneer spirit still lingers in AlzeCure Pharma, which has been listed on the stock exchange since 2016. Because even though Martin Jönsson highlights a need to adapt the organization in line with the growth opportunities that the grant enables, it is quite clear what lies close to his heart.

– We have a strong team that loves science and making a difference. That is one of the things that I am most proud of – how talented, innovative and dedicated our staff is. They are the ones who have created this portfolio, and we have even more that we want to continue working on.

The future offers light and hope for the company, patients and their relatives in the areas where AlzeCure Pharma operates. When we conclude our meeting with the question of whether there´s anything else Martin Jönsson would like to highlight during our conversation, the answer comes fast as lightning:

– I think it´s fantastic that a small company like us can develop groundbreaking medicinal products in this way. We believe that we have a fantastic opportunity to become Sweden’s most innovative, groundbreaking biotech company.