ProMIS Neurosciences to present preclinical data on computationally-derived vaccines for neurodegenerative diseases at AAN 2025

ProMIS Neurosciences Inc. a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the generation and development of antibody therapeutics and vaccines targeting toxic misfolded proteins in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple system atrophy (MSA), today announced that the Company will present preclinical data on computationally-derived vaccines for neurodegenerative diseases at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting taking place from April 5-9, 2025 in San Diego. “We are excited to showcase the potential of our computational modeling platform for developing next-generation novel targeted vaccines to combat neurodegenerative diseases,” said Neil Warma, Chief Executive Officer of ProMIS Neurosciences. “These promising preclinical data support our novel approach for the rational design of vaccines selectively targeting misfolded toxic proteins that drive neurodegenerative diseases. We look forward to advancing our mission to develop safe and effective vaccines that induce a specific immune response against toxic amyloid-beta oligomers for AD and against pathogenic species of alpha-synuclein (ASyn) for MSA and other synucleinopathies.”

AAN Posters and Presentation Details: Title: Novel approach to optimization of Alzheimer’s vaccine configuration for maximal targeting of toxic amyloid-beta oligomers
Session: P12: Aging, Dementia, and Behavioral Neurology: Alzheimer’s treatment
Presenter: Johanne Kaplan, Ph.D., Chief Development Officer, ProMIS Neurosciences
Date & Time: Wednesday April 9, 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM PT

A large body of evidence indicates that soluble toxic oligomers of amyloid-beta (AβO) are a primary driver of AD. Through computational modeling, four different conformational B cell epitopes of AβOs were identified. A novel approach was utilized to select an optimal vaccine composition amongst 15 possible combinations of one to four epitopes to provide maximal binding to a toxic oligomer-enriched low molecular weight fraction of soluble AD brain extract. Results from the preclinical study showed that immunization with a single conformational epitope, peptide 301, the target of PMN310 antibody, was sufficient to produce maximal reactivity against AD brain oligomers.

Title: Rational design of a vaccine for synucleinopathies using computationally-derived conformational B cell epitopes to selectively target pathogenic alpha-synuclein species
Session: P8: Aging, Dementia, and Behavioral Neurology: Non-AD Treatments
Presenter: Johanne Kaplan, Ph.D., Chief Development Officer, ProMIS Neurosciences
Date & Time: Tuesday April 8, 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM PT

Vaccination against pathogenic species of alpha-synuclein (ASyn); (toxic oligomers, small soluble seeding fibrils), has the potential to protect against synucleinopathies, which include Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy. Vaccine constructs containing computationally-derived conformational B cell epitopes of misfolded pathogenic ASyn were tested in mice. The potential advantage of this approach, as opposed to inducing pan-ASyn reactivity, lies in preserving normal ASyn function and minimizing the diversion of active antibody by the more abundant non-toxic forms of the protein in blood and central nervous system. Results from the preclinical study showed that vaccination with conformational B cell epitopes produced high affinity antibodies with the desired selectivity for pathogenic ASyn and identified optimal vaccine configurations for further development