Those with Alzheimer's or those who care for someone with Alzheimer's, face a daunting reality. There is no known cure for the disease, which is a type of progressive dementia that can inhibit an individual's ability to carry out everyday activities.
One company in Albuquerque says it has the solution — with research to back up its claim. The startup, called TNeuroPharma, is commercializing two products meant to detect and deter Alzheimer's.
Its platform is based on research conducted by TNeuroPharma's chief science officer Christopher Wheeler. While working for Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Wheeler identified a group of abnormal T cells. This part of a person's immune system attacks foreign particles in the body, enters the brain and causes the loss of neurons.
The company contends that blocking such T-cells from entering the brain can prevent cognitive decline.
TNeuroPharma is developing two T-cell products meant to work in conjunction, according to Kristina Trujillo, the company's CEO. The first, a diagnostic blood test, identifies the presence of the cells. The second is a "Therapeutic Intervention" product that would block T-cells from entering into the brain.
Trujillo and Wheeler both have research backgrounds. But prior to its incorporating the company, Trujillo said she had spent a decade working as a researcher at the University of New Mexico after receiving her Ph.D. in molecular biology from New Mexico State University (NMSU). She eventually "left the university because I had seen a lot of my technologies and a lot of my colleague's technologies were really potentially game-changing," she said.
Current Alzheimer's research and prevention focuses on specific types of proteins that are believed by many researchers to be responsible for the disease.
TNeuroPharma has already found interest from investors, raising more than $1.2 million in total, according to NMSU.
Raising money "always takes longer than you think" but dealmaking in the private sector happens "much more quick" compared to her experience in the public sector, Trujillo said. TNeuroPharma backers include the Arrowhead Innovation Fund at NMSU and angel investors, Trujillo said.
