Neurotez Inc.

This year, U.S. healthcare costs to treat Alzheimer’s disease will reach $321 billion. By 2050, those costs could rise to nearly one trillion dollars.

Neurotez is a biotech company on a mission to reduce these costs, and not only help those suffering from Alzheimer’s, but potentially even prevent them from getting the disease in the first place.

Alzheimer’s is a terrifying disease. It’s a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. Eventually, carrying out even the simplest tasks is almost impossible.

More than six million Americans live with Alzheimer’s. And the disease will be present among one in three seniors when they pass away.

Between 2000 and 2019, deaths from heart disease decreased more than seven percent. Meanwhile, deaths from Alzheimer’s increased 145% over that same period. More recently, Covid-19 contributed to a seventeen-percent increase in Alzheimer’s and dementia deaths.

Bottom line: Alzheimer’s is a deadly, fast-growing problem. But the situation gets even more complicated…

You see, Alzheimer’s is thought to be caused by the abnormal build-up of proteins in and around brain cells. One protein is called amyloid, or “abeta,” deposits of which form plaque around brain cells. The other is called tau, deposits of which form tangles within these cells.

Recently, though, there’s consideration that the presence of these proteins doesn’t automatically lead to Alzheimer’s. Researchers are stumped at the fact that not everyone who develops abeta plaque will develop the disease.

That’s why Neurotez is taking a different approach to treating Alzheimer’s. This company is focusing on a hormone called Leptin, which scientists have recently come to believe plays a significant role in learning and memory.

Typically, the brain has a natural abundance of Leptin. The hippocampus, for example, part of the brain that’s responsible for memory formation and cognition, is rich in Leptin receptors. But for those suffering from Alzheimer’s, Leptin levels decrease rapidly.

That’s why Neurotez is developed a drug that acts as a Leptin replacement therapy. The drug is called Memtin.

Memtin is a natural protein with a known medical safety profile. That means the FDA has a wealth of information on the drug, crucial with respect to eventually receiving FDA approval.

Neurotez has been working to develop Memtin since 2007. And not only could this drug help those already suffering from Alzheimer’s, but it might also prevent people from getting the disease.

Neurotez’s team has more than fifty years of pharmaceutical industry experience, and features a collective dozen Ph.Ds in Medicine and Science. The company has been awarded twenty patents and raised nearly five million dollars in funding. Notable investors include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the New Jersey Commission of Science and Technology.

Team Background

Wes Ashford - Chief Medical Officer

Wes has published more than 100 pieces on Alzheimer’s disease, and is a senior research scientist at the Stanford/VA Aging Clinical Research Center.

Additionally, he is a professor in Stanford’s Department of Psychiatry and a physician at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

He holds degrees from Cornell University and UC Berkeley.

Nik Tezapsidis - Founder & CEO

Nik has conducted more than eighteen years’ worth of biomedical research.

Prior to starting Neurotez, he was a research officer at Columbia University. Before that, he was on the research faculty at NYU Langone Medical Center.

He started his career on the faculty at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Throughout his career, his work has been featured in fifty publications, and he’s received nearly two dozen patents. He’s also received multiple awards from the Alzheimer’s Association.

Nik earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Sussex.

Hamish McArthur - Chief Manufacturing Officer

Hamish joined Neurotez after a thirty-three-year career with Pfizer. In addition to his role, he is President of SolAureus Consultants, a pharmaceutical advisory service.

Throughout his career, he’s been a part of more than fifty publications and patented work. He holds a Ph.D. in Microbial Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge.

Jukka Karjalainen - Chief Operating Officer

Jukka has twenty-five years of pharmaceutical experience in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He’s also a member of the International Science Advisory Board.

For nearly twenty years, he’s been CEO of Pharma Consulting Services, a consulting business for biotech and pharma companies. Before that, he was Chief Medical Officer with Cybin, a life sciences company focused on psychedelic drug development.

Earlier in his career, he was a pharma consultant with Cipla, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Before that, he was Chief Operating Officer with Bradmer Pharmaceuticals, and served as VP of Drug Development with Cytochroma, a biotech company. He also spent four years as a medical director with Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company.

Co-Investors

National Institutes of Health

An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. The NIH both conducts its own scientific research through its Intramural Research Program (IRP) and provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program.