Sources inform ''Globes'' that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has signed a strategic agreement with Israeli start-up Alcobra Ltd., which has developed a treatment for attention deficit disorder (ADD) based on an existing drug.
The agreement is similar to other agreements Teva has signed with CureTech Ltd., CellCure Neurosciences Ltd., Mediwound Ltd. and other companies. Teva will finance full development of Alcobra's product and will have the right to acquire the company for at least several tens of millions of dollars. Teva will make an initial investment of a few million dollars into the company.
Closing of the agreement is subject to approvals that Teva and Alcobra must obtain.
Alcobra was founded by Udi Gilboa and Dr. Dalia Megiddo in 2008, and they, together with other investors, have invested several million dollars in the company to date. Gilboa is managing director of TopNotch Capital, a boutique investment bank that specializes in the life sciences, and Megiddo is the managing partner in Expedio Ventures (formerly 7 Health Ventures).
Since Alcobra's product is based on a drug that is already on the market, it will have to undergo only a brief series of clinical trials. The company has already begun an expanded Phase IIb trial (multicenter efficacy trial) on 120 patients, which will take about nine months. The Phase I clinical trial (safety and efficacy trial) on 40 adult patients with ADD showed statistically significant improvement in selected cognitive measures.
Hadassah Medical Organization conducted a Phase I clinical trial of this drug developed by Alcobra to neutralize the influence of alcohol on cognitive functions. The page describes the clinical trial of slow release Metadoxine formula, which found that one dose of the drug before consuming alcohol lowered the level of alcohol in the blood, dramatically improved motor and cognitive functions and decreased the craving for alcohol in the test participants.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 22, 2011
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