Memory Pharmaceuticals Commences Phase I Study of MEM 3454

Memory Pharmaceuticals has announced the first dosing in a Phase I study of MEM 3454, a partial agonist of the nicotinic alpha-7 receptor, in healthy volunteers.

The study is being conducted in Toronto, Canada, under a clinical trial application that Memory filed with Health Canada. The study is a single-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single-ascending doses of MEM 3454.

The nicotinic alpha-7 receptor is a highly specialized receptor found in the central nervous system. Compounds acting on this receptor could be beneficial in the treatment of schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as other psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Roche has the right to obtain an exclusive license for MEM 3454 following the completion of Phase IIa clinical trials under Memory Pharmaceuticals' 2003 collaboration with Roche.