KAIST

- Bitop AG (Germany) requested a joint development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease 

- The meaning of the financial support by European enterprise to the research result of domestic university. 

Professor Chan Beum Park (Department of Materials Science and Engineering in KAIST/ President Nam Pyo Suh) has been entrusted with a joint international research for the development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease from Bitop AG, German biotechnology enterprise. 

KAIST recently agreed with Bitop AG to cooperate for a research program pursuing the development of inhibitors that inhibit the formation of plaque relevant to amyloid diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Based on this agreement, KAIST will be provided with a financial support of sixty thousands Euro (about 74 million won) from Bitop AG. 

Professor Park will perform the screening of inhibitors, which are the core of the research, and KAIST will share patent rights from the research with Bitop AG.

It is known that various degenerative nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, mad cow disease, and so on arise mainly from the accumulation of pathological protein plaque termed amyloid, and environmental stress accelerates the diseases. 

So far, no effective remedy has been developed for amyloid diseases. 

Recently, the use of chemicals inhibiting the formation of amyloid has been raised as a potential remedy. 

Natural small stress molecules extracted from microbes growing in extreme environments like volcanic region on the bottom of the deep sea, etc. are gaining attention as an amyloid inhibitor. 

Professor Park found out for the first time in the world that Anti-stress materials are effective in inhibiting the formation of amyloid plaque and published that fact in several renowned European scientific journals. 

After that, Professor Park was requested by Bitop AG for a joint research and has studied for the development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease using various kinds of Anti-stress materials. 

Professor Park said, “I’d like to grant a highly valuable meaning to this entrustment since it implies that European enterprises perceive the value of the research result by domestic universities and hope to promote research and development by providing practical financial support, etc. I wish this time’s entrustment will be a momentum to advance Korea’s research level one step higher through active joint researches with enterprises or institutes in U.S. and Europe as well as Bitop AG.” 

Bitop AG is a German enterprise that produces various Anti-stress materials coming from extreme-loving microbes. 

Currently, Anti-stress materials are being sold mainly as protein and cell protectants, cosmetic additives, health supplement, etc.

Anti-stress materials extracted from microbes well growing in extreme environment of one hundred centigrade or more are expected to perform a role of inhibitors that inhibit the formation of amyloid plaque, the main factor of stress-related degenerative nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, etc. Such Anti-stress materials are gaining attention as a future medicine for Alzheimer’s disease, etc.