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INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF AGING ANNOUNCES WINNER OF THE FIRST ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE DRUG DISCOVERY AWARD
Award recognizes that seed capital funding in academia can lead to discovery of a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease
New York, NY (September 16, 2003) – The Institute for the Study of Aging (ISOA) announced today that the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Award for 2003 is awarded to Marta Weinstock, B. Pharm, M.Sc., Ph.D. Funded by Anne and Howard Gottlieb and the Institute for the Study of Aging, the award and a prize of $100,000 is given to a scientist whose innovative research has made a significant impact on the discovery and development of new medicines for Alzheimer’s disease.
During the mid 1980s, Dr. Weinstock and colleagues at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem prepared and tested a new series of cognition enhancing drugs known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. One of the inhibitors, rivastigmine, was further developed and marketed worldwide for Alzheimer’s disease by Novartis Pharmaceuticals under the trade name Exelon. Dr. Weinstock is currently collaborating with scientists from the Technion in Haifa, Israel and Teva Pharmaceuticals to develop a novel bi-functional drug for Alzheimer’s disease. The drug is in Phase I of clinical trials in Germany.
Dr. Weinstock received her training at the Chelsea College of Pharmacy, London University. She is currently the Leon and Minna Deutsch Chair of Psychopharmacology at the Hebrew University. Dr. Weinstock was elected the first woman President of the Israel Society for Neuroscience in 2002.
“Although we now understand as much about Alzheimer’s disease as we do about heart disease and cancer, there remains an urgent need to translate this basic science knowledge into effective new therapeutics, stated Dr. Howard Fillit, Executive Director of ISOA. “Dr. Weinstock’s work demonstrates that new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease can be developed with seed capital funding for high risk, innovative drug discovery research. Today, we honor Professor Weinstock for creating an effective drug for Alzheimer’s disease.”
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