Alterity Therapeutics Presents New Data Demonstrating Potential of ATH434 to Treat Rare Neurodegenerative Disease Friedreich’s Ataxia

–   New Evidence Indicates ATH434 can Function as an Iron Chaperone to Redistribute Iron   –

MELBOURNE, Australia and SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alterity Therapeutics (ASX: ATH, NASDAQ: ATHE) (“Alterity” or “the Company”), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing disease modifying treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that important new data on its lead drug candidate ATH434 was presented at the World Orphan Drug Congress USA 2024 in Boston, MA.

The poster, entitled, “Biophysical Characteristics of ATH434, a Unique Iron-Targeting Drug for Treating Friedreich’s Ataxia”, was presented by Ashley Pall, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Wayne State University. The study evaluated the ability of ATH434 to target the toxic form of iron that drives the pathology of Friedreich’s Ataxia, a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects young children to young adults. The study also evaluated traditional iron chelators that are designed to bind iron and remove iron from the body. Conversely, an iron chaperone is designed to bind and redistribute iron within the body.

“This investigation provides important insights into the mechanism of action of ATH434, namely that it selectively targets the labile iron implicated in the pathology of important neurodegenerative diseases. In this way, ATH434 behaves like a chaperone to redistribute iron within the body. There has historically been great interest in targeting iron in general to treat these diseases, and we now have clear evidence that ATH434 is very different from traditional iron chelators,” said, David Stamler, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alterity.

Specifically, the study investigated how strongly ATH434 or traditional iron chelators bind the two forms of cellular iron: ferric iron, the stored form, or ferrous iron, the form required for vital cellular functions such as energy production. In excess, the ferrous or “labile” iron can also promote oxidative stress in diseases like Friedreich’s Ataxia as it does in Parkinson’s disease and Multiple System Atrophy.

Dr. Stamler continued, “The genetic defect in Friedreich’s Ataxia leads to reduced function of frataxin, a protein necessary for utilizing labile iron, thus leading to iron accumulation in disease. By acting as an iron chaperone, ATH434 has potential to reduce labile iron levels and thus slow disease progression. Given these new data, we are excited to evaluate FA as a potential new indication for ATH434.”