- Dr. Levy is the Research Director of the Division of Neuroimmunology & Neuro Infectious Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital
- Dr. Levy specializes in taking care of patients with rare neuroimmunological diseases
- Aeterna Zentaris has a patent license and research agreement with Julius-Maximilians-University for rights to AIM Biologicals for the potential treatment of NMOSD
- NMOSD, also known as Devic disease, is a chronic disorder of the brain and spinal cord
- In the U.S. and Europe, there are currently approximately 10,000 to 15,000 patients living with NMOSD
- Aeterna Zentaris is a specialty biopharmaceutical company
- AEterna Zentaris Inc. (AEZS) opened trading at C$1.06 per share
Dr. Levy will provide support and advice to Aeterna Zentaris in the fields of inflammatory CNS disorders, autoimmune diseases and NMOSD.
Dr. Levy is the Research Director of the Division of Neuroimmunology & Neuro Infectious Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital (“MGH”).
In January 2021, Aeterna Zentaris entered into an exclusive patent license agreement and research agreement with Julius-Maximilians-University of Wuerzburg, Germany for worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize AIM Biologicals for the potential treatment of NMOSD.
The company is currently conducting in-vitro and in-vivo assessments to identify and characterize an AIM Biologicals-based development candidate for the treatment of NMOSD and developing a manufacturing process for the selected candidate.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Levy and to have his support as we advance the development of this important program forward,” commented Dr. Klaus Paulini, Chief Executive Officer of Aeterna.
“We believe that the AIM Biologicals technology has the potential to become a breakthrough in the treatment of NMOSD and we are eager to unlock its full potential. The guidance and leadership that Dr. Levy, a worldwide leading expert on NMOSD, brings will be a critical component as we work with the University to identify development candidates for the AIM Biologicals program.”
Dr. Levy added,
“Over the course of my academic and clinical career, I have studied rare neuroimmunological diseases and dedicated my work to understanding how the immune system and the nervous system interact to cause disease. I am excited to support Aeterna Zentaris’ development of AIM Biologicals and to potentially offer a new treatment for NMOSD patients, where there remains significant unmet medical need.”
Dr. Levy is also an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Neuromyelitis Optica Clinic and Research Laboratory at MGH. He completed the MD/Ph.D. program at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX) with a focus on neuroscience. Dr. Levy completed his Johns Hopkins internship in the Osler Medicine program, residency in the Johns Hopkins Neurology program and a fellowship in Neuroimmunology at Johns Hopkins University. In 2009, Dr. Levy was appointed to the faculty as Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins where he started the Neuromyelitis Optica Clinic and Research Laboratory. In 2019 he moved to the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School to develop the research program in neuroimmunology.
Clinically, Dr. Levy specializes in taking care of patients with rare neuroimmunological diseases including neuromyelitis optica, transverse myelitis, MOG antibody disease, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and optic neuritis. In addition to neuroimmunology clinics, Dr. Levy has a special interest in patients with superficial siderosis of the central nervous system.
Dr. Levy is the principal investigator on several clinical studies and drug trials for all of these conditions.
NMOSD, also known as Devic disease, is a chronic disorder of the brain and spinal cord dominated by inflammation of the optic nerve (optic neuritis) and of the spinal cord (myelitis). Typical symptoms include visual loss, muscle spasms, paraparesis, and incontinence. If left untreated, 50% of individuals with NMOSD will be wheelchair-bound and blind, and 30% will have died within five years after the first attack.
The water channel protein AQP4 is widely expressed in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Auto-antibodies directed against the AQP4 channel play an important role in the pathogenesis of NMOSD.
Currently, there are only three approved medications available for the treatment of NMOSD with the risk of the patient contracting even more serious infections. Aeterna Zentaris believes there remains a strong medical need to offer additional therapeutic options to NMOSD patients.
In the U.S. and Europe, there are currently approximately 10,000 to 15,000 patients living with NMOSD. Of these, the AQP4 antibody seropositive patients who represent about 80% of the NMOSD population are the targeted patients for a potential therapy based on the AIM Biologicals technology.
Aeterna Zentaris is a specialty biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing a diversified portfolio of pharmaceutical and diagnostic products focused on areas of significant unmet medical need.
Aeterna Zentaris is dedicated to the development of therapeutic assets and has recently taken steps to establish a growing preclinical pipeline to potentially address unmet medical needs across a number of indications, including neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), hypoparathyroidism and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; Lou Gehrig’s disease).
AEterna Zentaris Inc. (AEZS) opened trading at C$1.06 per share.
