“The Eyes of Experts Worldwide”—GemVax & KAEL announced on March 24th that a luncheon symposium held at the Asia and Oceania Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders Congress (AOPMC) on the 22nd successfully captured the attention of global experts.
AOPMC is one of the conferences hosted by the Movement Disorder Society (MDS), the most authoritative international academic organization in the field of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. Neurologists and researchers from around the world gather to share research and treatment information covering the field of Parkinson’s and related disorders. This year’s conference was held from the 21st to the 23rd in Tokyo, Japan.
The luncheon symposium, titled “A New Era in PSP Therapy: GV1001’s Mechanism and Clinical Trial,” featured Professor Ji-Young Lee of the Seoul National University College of Medicine’s Department of Neuroscience (Boramae Hospital Parkinson’s and Rare Disease Center) and Director Hyeon-Jin Cho of GemVax’s New Drug Research Institute as speakers. Emeritus Professor Beom-Seok Jeon of Seoul National University served as the chair.
Amidst the concentration of interests from world-renowned experts, the presenters explained the mechanism of action, clinical data, and in-depth analysis. During the Q&A session that followed, experts showed keen interest and engaged in in-depth discussions.
Professor Ji-Young Lee, who oversaw the clinical trial, stated, “The ocular motor and bulbar scales in PSP are specific to PSP patients and differ from those for Parkinson’s disease. This result indirectly suggests that GV1001 improves PSP-specific pathologies, thereby preventing the key symptoms of PSP from worsening.”
She added, “Gait or other motor skills can improve for various reasons, but a significant change in aspects like ocular motor and bulbar, which are not easily improved, indicates meaningful results.”
Professor Chin-Hsien Lin from National Taiwan University Hospital noted, “The efforts to develop mechanism-targeted therapies for PSP are encouraging, and the results of the GV1001 extension study are also anticipated.”
Dr. Lin is internationally recognized in the field of Parkinson’s and related disorders, contributing to diagnosing and treating various neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on Asian patient characteristics.
During the conference, Dr. Lin expressed considerable interest in GV1001, describing it as a small peptide capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), showing multifaceted neuroprotective effects by reducing neuroinflammation, enhancing mitochondrial function, and decreasing tau accumulation in preclinical studies using tau mouse models. He evaluated, “The Phase 2 clinical trial results of GV1001 suggest it may delay PSP progression.”
Dr. Kristophe Diaz, Chief Strategy Officer of CurePSP, remarked, “The data on GV1001 presented today marks significant progress in developing PSP treatments. This rigorous preclinical and clinical research pioneered in Korea highlights the importance of international collaboration in addressing complex neurodegenerative disorders.”
He continued, “It was an honor to hear the progress of the research and review the data while directly communicating with researchers during the symposium. Advancements in PSP research require international collaboration beyond borders, bringing practical hope to patients and families worldwide.”
CurePSP is a nonprofit charity based in New York, USA, established in 1990, focused on raising awareness of neurodegenerative disorders like PSP, CBD, and MSA, offering support and education for patients and families, expanding expert networks, and funding research.
PSP is an atypical Parkinsonian syndrome resulting from the degeneration of nerve cells controlling eye movement. Its main symptoms include impaired balance, cognitive dysfunction, and muscle rigidity, with no fundamental treatment currently available, necessitating the rapid development of therapies.
GemVax continues to share PSP clinical data with global experts in the relevant field, fostering collaboration for drug development. The various findings related to clinical trials are expected to be crucial references for entering global Phase 3 clinical trials.