Young blood gets the biotech treatment
ALKAHEST'S SCIENCE IS A LOT MORE COMPLICATED THAN THE YOUNG BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS DEPICTED ON THE HBO SHOW "SILICON VALLEY." (JOHN P. JOHNSON/HBO)
You may recall the FDA's sharp warning last month that plasma infusions from young donors provide “no proven clinical benefit” against diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In Silicon Valley, a biotech company called Alkahest is trying to prove clinical benefit in those conditions.
Alkahest is developing a cocktail made from blood plasma filtered down to some 400 different types of proteins — just about 3 of the variety found in whole plasma. The hope is that the company's secret sauce can support degenerating neurons in a variety of ways.
But the scientific challenge is steep, especially in a disease as resistant to treatment as dementia. That isn't stopping Alkahest, which faces the first big test of its cocktail later this year, when it will report results from a study of 42 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
STAT's Rebecca Robbins has more.
Alkahest is developing a cocktail made from blood plasma filtered down to some 400 different types of proteins — just about 3 of the variety found in whole plasma. The hope is that the company's secret sauce can support degenerating neurons in a variety of ways.
But the scientific challenge is steep, especially in a disease as resistant to treatment as dementia. That isn't stopping Alkahest, which faces the first big test of its cocktail later this year, when it will report results from a study of 42 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
STAT's Rebecca Robbins has more.
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