Athenagen, Zapaq deal

Athenagen plans to merge with Zapaq to form a company focused on Alzheimer's disease and other neurology indications. Zapaq has two beta secretase inhibitors in preclinical development for AD, both of which are expected to start Phase I testing early next year. Athenagen's two lead candidates are GTS-21 (DMXBA), an oral nicotinic acetylcholine alpha 7 receptor agonist that will begin Phase II testing next year to treat schizophrenia and cognitive impairment in AD patients, and ATG003, an eye drop formulation of generic mecamylamine that will begin Phase I testing this year to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). ...