Alkahest � AKST1210

Alkahest, a Grifols company, was founded in San Carlos, California. Steven Braithwaite is both CEO and CSO. Chronokines are proteins that increase or decrease with age. Alkahest, through proteome decoding methods is developing clinical candidates that increase or decrease the levels of key circulating chronokines to either promote innate and natural restorative biological processes or inhibit pathological degenerative processes. These therapeutics include both traditional pharmaceutical modalities as well as highly selected and refined plasma fractions and other methods for antagonizing or supplementing the most biologically active chronokines. Current clinical trials are testing our therapeutic approaches for a range of age-related medical conditions. B2M is a protein in human plasma that increases in concentration with age and also accumulates in the blood of end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis. B2M was identified as a detrimental pro-aging factor as increasing plasma concentrations have negative impacts on cognition and the generation of new neurons in the adult brain. Among the roughly 500,000 ESRD patients in the US who require hemodialysis, the prevalence of cognitive impairment is significantly overrepresented, even when adjusting for age and co-morbidities. Some studies have shown some degree of cognitive impairment in up to 70% of ESRD patients. Alkahest’s research suggests that cognitive impairment in ESRD may be associated with the harmful accumulation of B2M and other plasma proteins that are insufficiently removed by hemodialysis. In a pilot trial, Alkahest is studying the effects of removing B2M using an extracorporeal device, AKST1210. By reducing levels of B2M in the plasma using the AKST1210 device, Alkahest hopes to understand whether it is possible to improve cognitive impairment and enable patients undergoing hemodialysis for ESRD to achieve improved treatment outcomes and quality of life. AKST1210 is currently in Phase II clinical trials as a treatment for end-stage renal disease-related cognitive impairment.