Grífols and ACE Foundation to test an Alzheimer’s vaccine in January 2014

Barcelona (ACN).- The Catalan pharmaceutical company Grífols and Barcelona’s Alzheimer Treatment&Research Center of Fundació ACE – a family charity – have announced that they will run tests of a vaccine against this neuro-degenerative illness from January 2014. It will coincide with the opening of this new research centre. The study will target 365 Alzheimer’s patients at mild and moderate stages of the illness. The first investigation project that ACE’s centre will host is called Ambar. The 365 participants will be randomly divided into three treatment groups plus a fourth control group. The patients will come from 17 Spanish hospitals and 20 United States’ medical centres. From 1996, the ACE Foundation has evaluated more than 14,000 people, 47% of whom were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It has the largest bank of genetic data in Europe.

The Ambar Study is directed by Dr. Mercè Boada and will start at the end of December with testing of a combined therapy of plasmatic replacement with, mostly, albumin reposition in different doses. According to the multinational Grífols – which is one of the world leaders in blood-derivate products, the treatment represents a new approach.

A new biomedical research centre in Barcelona

Barcelona’s Alzheimer Treatment&Research Center, run by the ACE Foundation, will be unveiled in January 2014. It is located near Diagonal Avenue and Dexeus Hospital. It will occupy 1,800 square metres divided into two units. The first will be the Diagnostic Unit, which will set global diagnostics through consensus among neurological, neuropsychological, social and psychiatric experts. The second will be the Clinical Test and Research Unit, where treatments will be carried out without the patient’s hospitalization.

Grífols is sponsoring the centre and the study

Grífols has backed this initiative within its global research strategy framework against Alzheimer’s with a donation and a long-term cooperation agreement with the ACE Foundation. The latter will coordinate and manage the centre independently. The Ambar Study will be the first one developed in the new centre. However, the Barcelona Alzheimer Treatment&Research Center will remain open to new cooperations with other research groups and other pharmaceutical companies.