# IND-Enabling Pre-clinical Development of Modified P8 for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

> **NIH NIH R44** · CENNA BIOSCIENCES, INC. · 2021 · $101,144

## Abstract

Summary
 The parent Commercialization Readiness Program grant was to conduct studies
necessary to support regulatory submissions relating to pre-clinical development of Cenna’s
peptide drug candidate mP8. mP8 is being developed as a new, first-in-class peptide drug for
the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The funded grant builds on the substantial progress made
under the previously funded SBIR Phase 2 and 2B grants to carry out activities to support a future
first in human clinical study of mP8. A necessary component of the studies that is required by
the FDA is to conduct IND-enabling drug safety toxicity and GLP safety pharmacology studies in
two species of animals. For peptides, small molecules and other drug modalities, studies using
a rodent plus a non-rodent species are required by the FDA to support clinical development and
licensing. When the parent grant was submitted, we had proposed to use the cynomolgus monkey
as the non-rodent animal model for these studies as it is an accepted species for preclinical
toxicity testing and is more closely related, both phylogenetically and physiologically, to humans
than dogs. Monkeys are also much smaller than dogs and so would require much less peptide.
This is important since our studies to date have indicated that our original peptide P8 is not toxic
even at the highest dose. We therefore anticipate having to use 50X-100X the efficacious dose if
we cannot produce toxicity, making the cost of the peptide very high if we were to test it in dogs.
 Since the funding of the grant, because of the pandemic and recent trade-wars with China,
where monkeys are sourced, there is a dire shortage of non-human primates. As a result, the
price per monkey has more than doubled. This Administrative Supplement application is to help
offset the increased cost of the monkey studies that are within the scope of the approved award
but were unforeseen when the application was submitted and reviewed.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10357986
- **Project number:** 3R44AG043278-07S1
- **Recipient organization:** CENNA BIOSCIENCES, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** NAZNEEN N DEWJI
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $101,144
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2012-08-15 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10357986

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10357986, IND-Enabling Pre-clinical Development of Modified P8 for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (3R44AG043278-07S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10357986. Licensed CC0.

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