The Epilepsy Therapy Project is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance new therapies for people living with epilepsy.

In May 2004, the Epilepsy Therapy Project announced its inaugural translational research grant recipient awards. The three grant recipients were chosen based on the breakthrough nature of each proposal and the potential to advance new treatments based on solid scientific and research foundations. These grants are unique in that they focus on projects demonstrating a clear path from research in the laboratory to new treatments for epilepsy.

Since the announcement of our inaugural awards, the Epilepsy Therapy Project and the Epilepsy Foundation formed the Epilepsy Research Foundation: a joint venture to fund new, innovative translational research to speed the search for new therapies and a cure for epilepsy. The Epilepsy Research Foundation's New Therapy Grants Program focuses strictly on the field of translational epilepsy research and provides resources to accelerate the progress of breakthrough research and new therapies "from the bench to the bedside." The Epilepsy Research Foundation solicits grant proposals biannually.

In June 2005, we announced that a third leading epilepsy organization, Finding A Cure For Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES), joined the Epilepsy Research Foundation as a partner. The partnership between the three organizations is the first of its kind in the epilepsy community. Together, our mutual commitment to fund projects through the Epilepsy Research Foundation's New Therapy Grants Program brings us that much closer to providing successful treatment options for those living with epilepsy. Funds raised by the Epilepsy Research Foundation are dedicated solely to epilepsy research.

In addition to the above, the Epilepsy Therapy Project supports the commercialization of research originating either in the private or the academic sector in order to facilitate the development of new treatments. The Epilepsy Therapy Project has made and continues to make investments in promising start-up companies with an emphasis on finding new treatments for epilepsy and assists in finding additional sources of funding for such companies.

The Epilepsy Therapy Project is pleased to present the recipients of funds awarded to date.

June 2008: Epilepsy Research Foundation Finding a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) Grant Award

• Grant: Preclinical new chemical entities as novel anti-epileptic drugs targeting dynamin
  Children's Medical Research Institute, The University of Sydney
  Sydney, Australia
  Philip James Robinson, PhD, Unit Head of the Cell Signaling Unit at Children's Medical Research Institute, Sydney, Australia; Adam McClusky, PhD, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Newcastle, Australia; and Terrence J. O'Brien, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia were awarded the FACES grant. The study is focused on development and commercialization of small molecule inhibitors of dynamin, an enzyme that is a key component of the synaptic vesicle cycle in neurons and is required for sustained neuronal activity. Blocking dynamin is a new approach to treatment of epilepsy because the drugs may only act after a few seconds of prolonged or high brain activity, such as occurring during the initiation or propagation of a seizure. Thus the approach will likely have less effect on the brain when there is no seizure activity. The potential benefits of this may be fewer side effects of dynamin inhibitor-based AEDs and the potential to have an impact on people who are refractory to all other AED treatments.

June 2008: Epilepsy Research Foundation New Therapies Grant Award

• Grant: Pulmonary Delivery of propofol for the control of intractable seizures
  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA
  Michael A. Rogawski, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis; Randall Betrand Murphy, Senior Vice President, Medkura Pharmaceuticals; and Kirk Nylen, post doctoral fellow, University of California, Davis were the recipients of funding for the development of an inhaler device, like that used in asthma treatment, to abort an impending seizure in a person with epilepsy who experiences seizure warning signs. The inhaler device uses a new formulation of propofol, a powerful anticonvulsant, for delivery through the patient's lungs.

June 2008: Epilepsy Research Foundation Grant Award

• Grant: Convection enhanced delivery of anticonvulsant toxins for the treatment of intractable partial epilepsy
  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA
  Michael A. Rogawski, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis; and Dorota Zolkowska, MD, PhD, Project Scientist at the Epilepsy Research Laboratory, University of California, Davis have received a grant for their proposal to deliver anticonvulsant peptides via an implanted catheter using convection enhanced delivery. This is designed to treat focal epilepsy in patients whose seizures are resistant to antiepileptic medications. Monitored by MRI scanning, the infusion provides protection against seizures for three months and can be repeated as necessary.

December 2007: Epilepsy Research Foundation New Therapy Grant Awards

• Grant: Randomized, Double Blind Parallel Trial of External Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation for Intractable Epilepsy
  UCLA School of Medicine
  Los Angeles, California
  Christopher DeGiorgio, M.D., Jason Soss, M.D., and Lara Schrader, M.D., of the UCLA Department of Neurology Seizure Disorders Center, and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, in collaboration with Todd Whitehurst, M.D., of Advanced Bionics, Inc., were the recipients of a grant to perform a randomized trial of Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (TNS) in people with poorly controlled epilepsy. Christianne Heck, M.D., of the USC-Keck School of medicine, also will be a co-investigator in this study. TNS is a promising new therapy that involves the external electrical stimulation of a nerve located above the eyes and over the forehead. Neurostimulation is a promising alternative for patients who have failed medical therapy and who are not surgical candidates. Stimulating the trigeminal nerve has several theoretical advantages: it is safe, low cost, and non-invasive. It can easily be performed prior to implantation of a permanent device to determine efficacy. In animals, TNS has a strong antiepileptic effect. In a pilot human study, TNS was safe and well tolerated; in addition, 57% of subjects had a >50% reduction in seizures. This grant will fund a double-blind clinical trial in 50 subjects. It will accelerate development of this exciting and novel therapy, which if successful, could make an innovative therapy available to people with epilepsy worldwide.

December 2007: Epilepsy Research Foundation New Therapy and Milken Family Foundation Grant Awards

• Grant: T-type Calcium Channel Antagonists as Novel AEDS
  Baylor College of Medicine
  Houston, Texas
  Neuromed Pharmaceuticals Ltd
  Vancouver, British Columbia
  Jeffrey L. Noebels, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Molecular and Human Genetics, Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, and Elizabeth Tringham, Ph.D., Project Leader for Epilepsy Discovery Efforts, Neuromed Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., received a grant to pursue the development of selective T-type calcium channel blockers as potential anti-epileptic drugs. Their research is based on evidence that generalized spike-wave absence seizures arise from currents in the brain mediated by the low threshold T-type calcium ion channel, and that these seizures are suppressed when this channel is absent or the current is pharmacologically reduced. This drug discovery project will screen a new class of highly potent and selective T-type calcium ion channel blockers for efficacy in single gene mouse mutant models of human spike-wave absence and temporal lobe epilepsy, with the goal of showing a superior anti-absence profile with fewer side effects than with current therapies for these conditions.

December 2007: Milken Family Foundation Translational Research Awards

• Grant: Pilot Safety Study Evaluating Hippocampal NPY Gene Transfer in Subject with Intractable Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
  The Ohio State University
  Columbus, Ohio
  Neurologix, Inc.
  Fort Lee, New Jersey
  Matthew J. During, M.D., Professor and Director, The Ohio State University Human Cancer Genetics Program, and Neurologix, Inc., are the recipients of a grant to conduct a pilot study to inhibit seizures caused by temporal lobe epilepsy and to reduce the invasiveness of current surgical treatment approaches by targeting the hippocampus of the brain, and delivering healthy genes where defective ones are causing the central nervous system disorder. In particular, Dr. During and Neurologix will seek to deliver the human Neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene, one of the brain’s endogenous anticonvulsants, to neurons in the hippocampus where NPY will act on receptors to inhibit the brain over-activity that occurs during seizures. This approach builds on experience Neurologix has gained through its similar gene transfer approach to treating Parkinson’s disease in a Phase 1 clinical trial that demonstrated safety, tolerability and efficacy.
  

June 2007: Epilepsy Research Foundation New Therapy Grant Awards

• Grant: Closed-looped microstimulation with multi-electrode arrays to suppress epileptic seizures
  Emory University School of Medicine
  Atlanta, Georgia
  Robert E. Gross, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Departments of Neurosurgery and Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, and Steve M. Potter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, are the recipients of a grant for the development of a novel electrical stimulation approach that directly controls the activity of the brain to attain a more stable state from which seizures will not arise. By continuously controlling the activity of epileptogenic brain areas with distributed low-voltage stimulation, the researchers have shown that small arrays of multiple electrodes can completely suppress epileptic activity in cultured brain tissue. They hope to maintain the brain in a seizure-free or seizure-resistant state, therefore bypassing the need to detect or prevent seizures, and are investigating this treatment in animal models of epilepsy. Funding for this program was made possible in part through a gift from the Patricia Bowman Terwilliger Family Foundation Charitable Trust.
• Grant: Multi-scale human electrophysiology and stimulation
  Mayo Clinic
  Rochester, Minnesota
  Gregory A. Worrell, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, received a grant to develop an electrophysiology platform for multi-scale EEG and stimulation experiments. Dr. Worrell and his research team have developed an electroencephalography (EEG) recording and stimulation approach that facilitates investigation across the range of spatiotemporal scales involved in the generation of seizures. They have recently identified a novel electrographic signature of epileptogenic brain that falls outside the spatiotemporal range of conventional intracranial EEG, and that may represent a precursor of seizure generation. They anticipate that their multi-scale EEG and stimulation approach will improve the efficacy of epilepsy surgery and therapeutic brain stimulation.
• Grant: The development of intravenous topiramate for neuroprotection and seizure control in neonates
  University of Minnesota
  Minneapolis, Minnesota
  James C. Cloyd, PharmD, Professor and Director, Epilepsy Research & Education Program, University of Minnesota, is the recipient of a grant to pursue the development of an intravenous (IV) formulation of topiramate to bring a well-established and effective medication to a new therapeutic indication: neonatal seizures. Neonatal seizures, for which there are limited therapeutic options, can result in impairment in development, cognition and potentially harmful side effects to the developing brain. Laboratory studies offer compelling evidence that topiramate, an effective anti-epileptic drug with a good safety record in children over two years of age and adults, could substantially improve the management of seizures in newborn infants. An IV formulation would be required to treat neonates because of the need to precisely control drug concentrations, and no IV topiramate currently exists.

December 2006: Epilepsy Research Foundation New Therapy and Milken Family Foundations Grant Awards

• Grant: Phase IIA Open Label Dose Escalation Study to Investigate the Safety and Tolerability of Huperzine A for the Treatment of Epilepsy
  Harvard Medical School
  Boston, Massachusetts
  Steven Schachter, M.D., Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Associate Director of Clinical Research, HMS Osher Institute, Director of Research, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will pursue a Phase IIA dose-escalation study for the treatment of epilepsy with Huperzine A. This compound, derived from a Chinese herb, is available in the U.S. as a dietary supplement and approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in China, having been administered to over 1,400 healthy volunteers and patients in numerous trials, demonstrating safety and tolerability. Dr. Schachter and colleagues discovered the anticonvulsant properties of Huperzine A in preclinical studies. This study will evaluate this compound as an add-on therapy in patients with refractory epilepsy for its safety and tolerability as well as provide a preliminary assessment of its effectiveness for seizures and its actions on mood and memory.

• Grant: Galanin-Based Therapy for Refractory Epilepsy
  University of Utah
  South Lake City, Utah
  Grzegorz Bulaj, Ph.D., Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, received a grant to pursue research in the development of a galanin-based therapy for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. Galanin, a neuropeptide, possesses both anticonvulsant and antiepileptogenic activity when injected directly into the brain. This study aims to chemically synthesize four galanin analogs modified to facilitate transport through the blood brain barrier to overcome this obstacle. These analogs will be evaluated for their biological stability, bioavailability, potential toxicity and anticonvulsant efficacy and potency following intraperitoneal and oral administration. This study is part of a larger preclinical investigation anticipated to result in the selection of one or two Investigational New Drug candidates for advanced preclinical testing.

December 2006: Epilepsy Research Foundation New therapy Grant Awards

• Grant: Adenosine-releasing Brain Implants for Epilepsy Therapy
  R.S. Dow Neurobiology Laboratories
  Portland, Oregon
  Detlev Boison, Ph.D., Associate Scientist, Director Epilepsy Program, R.S. Dow Neurobiology Laboratories, Legacy Research, Portland, Oregon and David L. Kaplan, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Director, Bioengineering & Biotechnology Center, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts are the recipients of a grant to pursue the development of adenosine-releasing brain implants for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. Adenosine, an endogenous neuromodulator, has potent anticonvulsive properties and requires long-term delivery directly to the brain. This study aims to develop intraventricular implants of biodegradable silk protein polymers in combination with adenosine for therapeutic delivery of adenosine in a rat model. Both the silk polymer and adenosine are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clinical use, and this study aims to engineer a safe delivery system for adenosine that can be employed in clinical feasibility and safety trials.

May 2006: Epilepsy Research Foundation New Therapy Grant Awards

• Grant: a-methyl-Tryptophan-conjugated Magnetonanoparticles for enhanced therapy of epilepsy
  UCLA School of Medicine
  Los Angeles, California
  Massoud Akhtari, Ph.D., Semel Institutes of Neuropsychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, received a grant to pursue research with a newly synthesized epilepsy-specific contrast agent for use in improving surgical outcomes. This agent is being developed to selectively tag epileptic brain tissues through MRI imaging. The goal of this project is to provide an opportunity for improved and more accessible surgical therapy for epilepsy through proper localization of epileptic tissues. In addition, this method would enable the monitoring of epilepsies in an effort to identify markers of epileptogenicity and epileptogenesis. Currently no epilepsy-specific contrast agent exists for MRI imaging.

• Grant: Preclinical, IND-enabling Studies of 2DG for Therapy of Epilepsy
  University of Wisconsin and NeuroGenomeX, Inc.
  Madison, Wisconsin and Malvern, Pennsylvania
  Tom Sutula, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin and Chief Technical Officer, NeuroGenomeX, Inc., a new neurogenomic sciences company discovering and developing new drug targets for the treatment of disorders associated with neuronal plasticity (www.neurogenomex.com), has been selected to receive an equity investment, to advance the development of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG), a glucose analog used for decades as an image tracer, as a novel anticonvulsant and disease-modifying treatment for epilepsy. 2DG was recently discovered to have potent acute anticonvulsant and chronic antiepileptic actions including protection against seizure-induced functional alterations in neural circuits. This study is part of a larger preclinical investigation anticipated to result in an Investigational New Drug application before the end of 2007.

December 2005: Epilepsy Research Foundation New Therapy Grant Awards

• Grant: In Vitro and In Vivo Testing of Herbal Extracts and Extract-derived Compounds for Treatment of Epilepsy
  Harvard Medical School Osher Institute
  Boston, Massachusetts
  Steven C. Schachter, M.D., Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, and Associate Director, Clinical Research at Harvard Medical School Osher Institute, will identify and obtain anticonvulsant extracts from Asia, Africa and South America and new, potentially novel extract-derived anticonvulsant compounds through an international collaboration with university scientists in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Chile, China and Senegal. Herbal extracts and compounds isolated from them with demonstrated efficacy in animal models of epilepsy will be targeted for clinical trials. The project builds on Dr. Schachter's previous experience with East Asian herbal medicines and establishes a systematic global search for novel therapeutic agents for epilepsy derived from herbal sources.

• Grant: Phase Resetting using DC Stimulation for Seizure Blockage
  University of Kansas Medical Center
  Kansas City, Kansas
  Ivan Osorio, M.D., Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, will pursue new research leading to the development of a prototype device that senses the evolving abnormal electrical discharge in the brain associated with seizures and returns it to normal electrical function. Termed "phase resetting" using direct current (DC) stimulation for seizure blockage, this project represents the first use of DC stimulation within the brain as a potential treatment for epilepsy.

• Grant: Second Generation Antiepileptic Devices: Designing Greater Efficacy
  University of Pennsylvania
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  Brian Litt, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurology and Bioengineering, and Marc Dichter, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, both of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, will investigate the translation of existing electrical stimulation therapeutic technology to more effective second-generation devices. The goal of this project is to improve the detection, prediction and stimulation functions of current implantable antiepileptic devices, increasing their efficacy and enabling more patients on these devices to become seizure free.

December 2005: Milken Family Foundation Transitional Research Awards

• Grant: Targeting Glycolysis as a New Approach to the Treatment of Epilepsy
  Baylor College of Medicine
  Houston, Texas
  Xiao-Yuan Lian, Ph.D., Instructor, and Janet L. Stringer, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, will investigate the manipulation of glucose metabolism as a new treatment for seizures. The project is based on earlier research that suggests the inhibition of glycolysis in brain cells could explain the potent anti-seizure effect of the ketogenic diet. The project is designed to demonstrate the anticonvulsant action of a chemical agent known to inhibit glycolysis and open the door to a new class of therapeutic agents potentially offering improved seizure control with fewer side effects than existing therapies.

• Grant: Seizure Prevention using BK Channel Antagonists
  Carnegie Mellon University
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  Alison L. Barth, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, and member of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, a partnership of Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, was awarded a Milken grant for research on the development of a new therapy with the potential to reverse an acquired channelopathy that increases neuronal excitability and the risk of a chronic seizure disorder following a first seizure.

May 2005: Epilepsy Research Foundation New Therapy Grant Awards

• Grant: Seizure Control by Closed-Loop Feedback in a Rat Model of Chronic Epilepsy
  Arizona State University
  Tempe, Arizona
  Leon Iasemidis, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Harrington Department of Bioengineering, Arizona State University, Kostas Tsakalis, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University and David Treiman, M.D., Newsome Chair in Epileptology, Vice-Chair of the Department of Neurology, Director of the Epilepsy Center at Barrow Neurological Institute, Research Professor of Bioengineering, Arizona State University were awarded a grant, partially funded through the generous support of the Ali Paris Fund for Landau-Kleffner Syndrome Research & Education, to explore and test a closed-loop electrical stimulation method on an animal model of chronic epilepsy using seizure prediction and intervention algorithms. Dr. Iasemidis', Dr. Tsakalis', and Dr. Treimans' project is based on previous research findings that identified a mathematical model designed to predict seizures in both humans and animals as well as help determine seizure control. This project aims to predict and avert seizures long before their clinical and/or electrographic onset.

• Grant: Efficacy of Talampanel in Neonatal Seizures and Brain Injury
  Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and IVAX Research, Inc.
  Boston, Massachusetts and Miami, Florida
  Frances E. Jensen, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurology, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Michael R. Fetell, M.D., Vice President Oncology and CNS, IVAX Research, Inc. were awarded a collaborative grant using an animal model to assess the anticonvulsant and antiepileptogenic efficacy of talampanel and its effect in modulating the AMPA-receptor (AMPAR) responses in neonatal seizures and brain injury. Dr. Jensen's and Dr. Fetell's research is based on a series of in vivo and in vitro models of neonatal seizures and perinatal injury demonstrating selective anticonvulsant, antiepileptogenic, and protective efficacy of known AMPA receptor antagonists NBQX, GYKI-52466, and topiramate. Their project aims to test neonatal and pediatric efficacy and toxicology as well as begin preliminary development of a non-oral form of talampanel that is easily administered to human infants.

• Grant: Intracerebral Injection of Anticonvulsant Containing Spray-Dried Biocompatible Microparticle for Long-Term Treatment of Epilepsy
  Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy
  Amarillo, Texas
  Bi-Botti Celestin Youan, PharmD., Ph.D., School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and Karin Borges, Ph.D. were awarded a grant to explore the efficacy of spray-dried biocompatible microparticles of phenytoin, when injected into the brain, result in optimal therapeutic anticonvulsant concentrations and seizure control. Using phenytoin as the model drug, Dr. Youan's and Dr. Borges' project aims to engineer novel, safe and effective therapies for long-term treatment of epilepsies by providing the platform for the development of a delivery system capable of administering new and old anticonvulsant drugs. The long-term goal is to provide a treatment alternative for patients who are pharmacoresistant and not candidates for surgery.

April 2005: Epilepsy Therapy Project - Investment

• VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (www.vistagen-inc.com)
  Burlingame, California
  Founded in 1998, VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing small molecule and protein therapeutics for central and peripheral nervous system ("neuronal") disorders and metabolic diseases (diabetes, obesity, and other insulin-resistance conditions). Since inception, the Company has achieved significant milestones, including: (i) assembling a strong patent position in embryonic stem cell ("ES cell") technologies; (ii) a strategic pharmaceutical ES cell drug development partnership in diabetes; and (iii) the acquisition of Artemis NeuroScience and its lead compound, AV-101.

  VistaGen expects to file an IND in 2006 and enter the clinic with AV-101 for multiple neuronal disorders in late 2006. VistaGen believes AV-101, it's lead drug candidate for the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain, represents a potential first-in-class therapy in the growing, multi-billion dollar worldwide neuronal market. In addition, VistaGen has a proprietary ES cell-based drug discovery platform technology, with one significant partnership based on this core technology already in place. VistaGen expects to enter into additional partnerships to obtain new drug candidates, fund research and development, provide milestone-based funding, and market commercial products that result from collaborations.

April 2005: Epilepsy Therapy Project Grant Award

• Grant: A Stereoselective Comparative Analysis of the Antiepileptic and Antiallodynic Activity and Lack of Hepatotoxicity of the Enantiomers of Propylispopropyl Acetamide (R-PID, S-PID and Racemic-PID), a Second Generation to Valproic Acid
  The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  Jerusalem, Israel
  Meir Bialer, Ph.D., MBA, David H. Eisenberg, Professor of Pharmacy, and Boris Yagen, Ph.D., Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, were awarded a grant to stereoselectively assess, utilizing animal modes, the antiepileptic and antiallodynic activity of propylisopropyl acetamide (R-PID, S-PID and racemic PID) a second generation to valproic acid (VPA). In an ongoing research aiming to develop more potent and less toxic antiepileptics and CNS drugs, utilizing pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic-relationship (SPPR) approach, a series of amide analogues of VPA has been designed and comparatively analyzed. PID is one of the lead compounds of this series and the project aims to enantioselectively assess the anticonvulsant and antiallodynic activity and lack of hepatotoxicity of PID (individual enantiomers and racemate) in animal models for epilepsy, neuropathic pain and VPA-associated hepatotoxicity.

  VPA is one of the leading antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). However its clinical use is restricted in women of child-bearing age and in children due to its teratogenicity and hepatotoxicity. Therefore, there is a substantial need to develop non-teratogenic and non-hepatotxic CNS-active VPA derivatives. The design and development of PID enantiomers can provide a suitable answer to this clinical need.

  This grant from the Epilepsy Therapy Project was matched with an equal grant from Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.jazzpharmaceuticals.com), Palo Alto, California.

December 2004: Epilepsy Research Foundation Translational Research Grant Awards

• Grant: Preclinical Evaluation of Ginseng Extract
  Baylor College of Medicine
  Houston, Texas
  Janet L. Stringer, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology, Baylor College of Medicine, was awarded a grant to determine the effects of particular ginseng extracts, or naturally occurring compounds known as ginsenosides in the treatment of seizures. Dr. Stringer’s project is based on a research finding that a specific extract produced from ginseng leaves has greater anticonvulsant activity than the whole ginseng extract, Dr. Stringer’s program aims to identify and characterize anticonvulsant ginsenosides, as well as to purify and prepare sufficient quantities of the extract for future clinical studies.

• Grant: Noninvasive Nonlinear Seizure Prediction Device
  University of Michigan
  Ann Arbor, Michigan
  Robert Savit, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, University of Michigan, and Jonathan Edwards, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology, Director, EEG Laboratory, University of Michigan were awarded a grant to complete testing and produce definitive proof of a concept for an ambulatory non-invasive recording device capable of providing advanced notice of an impending seizure. In previous research, Dr. Savit and his collaborators had developed a measurement of marginal predictability (MP) for nonlinear time series. Under an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Savit and his collaborators observed significant, consistent changes in MP several tens of minutes prior to a seizure in patients with focal epilepsy. Based on these findings, Dr. Savit and Dr. Edwards’ project aims to test the efficacy of changes in MP as a predictor of impending seizures as well as determine if the algorithm used for prediction is universal across epilepsy patients. The ability to predict seizure onset could be the foundation for future intervention devices and therapies preventing seizures before they occur.

• Grant: Controlling Brain Excitability by Electrical Stimulation
  Yale University
  New Haven, Connecticut
  Idil Cavus, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery Departments, Yale University, was awarded a grant to study the control of brain excitability by electrical stimulation in patients with epilepsy. Dr. Cavus’ project is based on his preliminary findings that seizure suppression is correlated to the frequency of the stimulation: low frequency (1Hz) and high frequency (130-333 Hz) appear safe and efficacious; mid-range frequency (50 Hz) is not. Dr. Cavus aims to compare the effects of stimulating the epileptogenic neocortex of the brain at low and high frequencies on neurophysiological and neurochemical excitability measures in neurosurgical epilepsy patients. Currently available implantable stimulation devices are successful at treating other movement disorders, but have been ineffective at controlling many types of epilepsy seizures. The results will determine if frequency is a factor in efficacy and will serve as a guide for additional, comprehensive studies involving other stimulation sites, excitability measures, duration of stimulus, repetitive stimulation, in addition to other possible endpoints.

December 2004: Epilepsy Therapy Project & Epilepsy Foundation Grant Awards

• GRANT: STAR (Share Tissue, Advance Research)
  CURE-Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy
  NDRI-National Research Disease Interchange
  Founded by CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy) and its partnership with the leading tissue procurement program in the country, NDRI (National Research Disease Interchange), the STAR Epilepsy Tissue Exchange Program was formed to help epilepsy researchers access a reliable source of human tissues from both epilepsy and control donors-resources they might need most to cross the bridge to a cure for epilepsy. The program is managed by NDRI as well as a steering committee which includes the president of CURE and leading neurologists and neurosurgeons from such institutions as Yale University School of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

May 2004: Epilepsy Therapy Project Translational Research Grant Awards

• Grant: Asian Herbs for Epilepsy
  Harvard Medical School
  Boston, Massachusetts
  Steven Schachter, MD, Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Associate Director, Clinical Research at Harvard Medical School Osher Institute was awarded a grant to examine Asian herbs as a possible source of new chemical entities for the treatment of epilepsy. This research leverages an existing National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded international collaboration in herbal research centered at Harvard Medical School, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Anticonvulsant Screening Program, and two high-throughput screening (HTS) laboratories at Harvard Medical School. The program also includes investigators at universities throughout Asia where a large number of herbs have been used to treat convulsive diseases. The study aims to evaluate promising herbal epilepsy medicines in highly validated animal models of epilepsy, and to identify, characterize, and profile the fractions and compounds with anti-seizure properties, and prioritize those herbs for future clinical studies.

• Grant: Low Power Analog Seizure Detection Device
  Flint Hills Scientific, LLC
  Lawrence, Kansas
  Naresh Bhavaraju, PhD, Research and Development Engineer at Flint Hills Scientific (FHS), was awarded a grant towards the development of low-power, implantable seizure detection and treatment devices that will allow prolonged operation without the need for frequent battery recharging or replacement. The grant supports the development of an analog circuit implementation of FHS’s seizure detection algorithm that reduces power consumption, prolonging battery life.

• Grant: Animal Model of Posttraumatic Pharmacoresistant Epileptogenesis
  University of Washington School of Medicine
  Seattle, Washington
  Raimondo D’Ambrosio, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery, at the University of Washington School of Medicine, was awarded a grant to establish baseline data on a new animal model of epileptogenesis and pharmacoresistant epilepsy. This project is designed to evaluate a rodent model with posttraumatic epilepsy via closed head injury-induced seizures for drug screening. This model is closely related to human cases of closed head injury. Its novel design was developed in response to increasing concern that traditional epilepsy models, which rely on electrical stimulation or administration of neurotoxins, may be clinically irrelevant and ineffective at identifying significant epileptogenic mechanisms and antiepileptic therapeutics. The project will focus on the probability of developing epilepsy due to the degree and location of injury, the neurologic focus of epilepsy following injury over time, and the pharmacological responsiveness at different durations of time following injury.

April 2004: Epilepsy Therapy Project - Investment

• Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.marinuspharma.com)
  New Haven, Connecticut
  Marinus is a development stage specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of drugs to treat serious neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company has successfully in-licensed a phase II/III compound for epilepsy as well as a late pre-clinical program for bipolar disorder from Yale University. In addition, the company has developed several proprietary high throughput assays of epilepsy. Fred Frank of Lehman Brothers is the lead investor. The company is led by Geoffrey E. Chaiken, President and Founder, and Harry H. Penner, Chairman and CEO.

March 2004: Epilepsy Therapy Project - Investment

• NeuroMolecular Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.neuromolecular.com)
  Emeryville, California
  NMI was founded in 2002, and its approach is to utilize NMDA receptor channel compounds to treat a variety of CNS disorders, including epilepsy. It is developing a class of neurprotective drugs based upon Memantine. NMI is headed by Gregory Went and includes Stuart Lipton and Jonathan Stamler as founders and co-chairs of its Scientific Advisory Board.

Continue to: Other Sources of Funding