Utah scientist receives funding to pursue Alzheimer’s drug
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Dr. Donna Cross, a neuroscientist at the University of Utah, received a $450,000 donation from an anonymous man whose wife has Alzheimer’s disease, allowing her to continue research into a cancer drug, Paclitaxel, that reversed brain injury in mice.
Cross initially hoped to begin human trials two years ago, but lacked funding. The donation, combined with $20,000 of her own money, enabled her to publish research confirming her findings.
A woman in the University of Utah administration also pledged her support after experiencing a remission of both multiple sclerosis and breast cancer following Paclitaxel treatment. She theorizes the chemotherapy cured her MS by temporarily making her blood-brain barrier more permeable, allowing the drug to reach and repair her brain. Cross and her mentor, Satoshi Minoshima, have since established Caelium, a biopharmaceutical company.
They are seeking $5 to $10 million in funding to conduct clinical trials, which, if successful, could lead to a publicly available drug within five years. Cross believes the drug could potentially treat a range of brain diseases, including MS, ALS, Parkinson’s, and various forms of dementia, by strengthening the brain's ability to resist illness and injury.
