Curemark commences CM-AT Phase III autism clinical trial enrollment at ten sites

Jan 27 2010

Curemark, LLC, (www.curemark.com), a drug research and development company focused on the treatment of neurological diseases, announced that the company is now enrolling patients in Phase III clinical trials for CM-AT, its autism treatment, at ten sites across the country.  The sites are:

• Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City
• Drexel University, Philadelphia
• University of Texas, Houston
• Indiana University, Purdue University, Indianapolis
• Ohio State University, Columbus
• Louisiana State University, Shreveport
• Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC), Phoenix, Arizona
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Pennsylvania State University, Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
• Lake Mary Pediatrics, Orange City, Florida

Curemark's Phase III trials for CM-AT encompass 12 sites nationally with a total 170 children.  

"We have six new trial sites that are now active and recruiting patients – New York, Philadelphia, Houston, Indianapolis, Columbus and Shreveport.  These are in addition to the four that we announced had opened enrollment in October and November," said Dr. Joan Fallon, Curemark founder and CEO.  "We're moving very rapidly with our clinical trial program and anticipate that the remaining sites will be initiating enrollment soon."

CM-AT is based on breakthrough research that showed enzyme deficiencies in autistic children, resulting in an inability to digest protein.  The inability to digest protein affects the production of amino acids, the building blocks of chemicals essential for brain function.  CM-AT will be one of the first therapies to address the underlying physiology of autism, rather than just treat its symptoms.

"We're hopeful about the viability of Curemark's enzyme replacement therapy and the promise of CM-AT in targeting the physiology of autism for the first time," Fallon said.

New data released in December by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that the number of children affected by autism is higher than originally thought.  According to the CDC, autism affects 1 in 110 children.