A Korean drug company working on a treatment for dementia in dogs said that its investigational therapy Ropesalazine was effective in companion dogs with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS), or dementia.
GNT Pharma said its pilot clinical trial, before entering a phase 2 trial, showed that the treatment showed efficacy to protect brain cells from damage, which was “the world’s first.”
Senior dogs with dementia suffer confusion with owner recognition, disorientation, changes in the sleep-wake cycle, frequent house soiling, and appetite changes. About 40 percent of companion dogs aged 12 or more develop dementia, but there is no cure.
Ropesalazine is a multi-target drug that kills Alzheimer’s disease-causing brain nerve cells and prevents inflammation and oxidative stress that generates amyloid plaques.
GNT Pharma said it found that dogs suffered cognitive dysfunction with brain cell damage and accumulation of amyloid plaques, just like humans. Jointly with Irion Animal Hospital in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, the company conducted a five-month pre-clinical study from February on six dogs with dementia.
The dogs were more than 14 years old and showed the same symptoms of human dementia. The dogs could not recognize their owners, soiled the house, and failed to sleep at night due to a sleep disorder.
The preliminary study administered Ropesalazine to the six dogs once a day orally and checked the treatment’s safety and efficacy after eight weeks.
The researchers assessed the cognitive functions and daily activity of the six dogs after four weeks and eight weeks of treatment. They found that the dog’s cognitive functions returned to the normal level.
“I could confirm that the dogs that did not recognize their owners went back to normal, wagged their tails and cuddled up to their owners within eight weeks of the treatment,” said Moon Jae-bong, veterinarian and head of Irion Animal Hospital, who led the study. “The dogs did not have any adverse drug reaction in blood tests and clinical behavior tests.”
GNT Pharma said it would push to conduct a joint clinical trial on Ropesalazine with five animal hospitals including Chungbuk National University’s Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Irion Animal Hospital.
“It is very encouraging to quickly see the treatment effect of Ropesalazine in dogs suffering a serious cognitive dysfunction,” said Gwag Byoung-joo, CEO of GNT Pharma. “We will initiate a pivotal phase-2 study of Ropesalazine for patients with Alzheimer’s disease next year, hoping to launch Ropesalazine as the first disease-modifying Alzheimer’s disease therapy within next five years.”
According to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, the number of pets exceeded 10 million, meaning one in five people in the nation is raising a pet.