Novo Nordisk's parent company Novo Holdings has led a $100 million third-round financing for Swiss biotech Asceneuron, which is developing a non-amyloid therapy for Alzheimer's disease.The new funds will be used for mid-stage clinical trials of ASN51, an oral small-molecule inhibitor of O-GlcNAcase (OGA), which has emerged in recent years as a possible target for the treatment of tauopathies, including Alzheimer's.Studies have shown that OGA inhibitors promote the glycosylation of tau protein, which clumps together to form tangles in Alzheimer's in a manner similar to the aggregation of amyloid into plaques.OGA inhibitors promote glycosylation of tau, which seems to prevent aggregation and stabilise the protein in a soluble, non-pathogenic form.

诺和诺德的母公司诺和诺德控股为瑞士生物技术公司Asceneuron提供了1亿美元的第三轮融资，该公司正在开发一种治疗阿尔茨海默病的非淀粉样蛋白疗法。 OGA抑制剂促进tau的糖基化，这似乎可以防止聚集并以可溶性，非致病性形式稳定蛋白质。

Tau tangles are also a feature of other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND).Asceneuron has already completed five phase 1 trials of ASN51 which showed that the drug was taken up into the central nervous system uptake and bound to OGA.

Tau缠结也是其他神经退行性疾病的特征，包括帕金森氏症和肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS），也称为运动神经元疾病（MND）。Asceneuron已经完成了五项ASN51的第一阶段试验，该试验表明该药物被吸收到中枢神经系统并与OGA结合。

A phase 2 clinical study is due to start later this year, as Asceneuron tries to keep pace with rivals in the category, which include Eli Lilly, Biogen, and MSD.Lilly's LY3372689 is already in a phase 2 trial involving patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer's in North America, Australia, Japan, and Poland, with results expected later this year.

随着Asceneuron努力与包括礼来、Biogen和MSD在内的同类竞争对手保持同步，一项2期临床研究将于今年晚些时候开始。礼来公司的LY3372689已经在北美、澳大利亚、日本和波兰进行了2期临床试验，涉及早期症状性阿尔茨海默病患者，预计今年晚些时候会有结果。

Meanwhile, Biogen reported phase 1 data with its BIIB113 candidate in healthy volunteers at this year's International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases (AD/PD), while MSD/Alectos have an inhibitor called MK-8719 in preclinical testing.There are a host of other tau-targeting candidates coming through the pipeline – with mixed results in clinical.

与此同时，Biogen在今年的阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病国际会议（AD/PD）上报告了健康志愿者的BIIB113候选物的第一阶段数据，而MSD/Alectos在临床前测试中有一种称为MK-8719的抑制剂。还有许多其他针对tau蛋白的候选药物正在开发中，临床结果喜忧参半。