A Research Triangle-based firm may be a player in the search for a successful treatment of Alzheimer’s.

In the latest news of progress on the Alzheimer’s front, RTP-based T3D Therapeutics on Tuesday disclosed that it had received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for its development of a potential Alzheimer’s treatment.

The drug has already shown promise in early testing. T3D touts its research as being potentially “transformational” for Alzheimer’s research.

Just last week, Biogen, which has a major presence in RTP, reported a potential breakthrough treatment of the mind-crippling disease.

Biogen and GlaxoSmithKline also are major investors in a new million investment fund targeting Alzheimer’s research.

Noted T3D CEO John Didsbury: “The National Institute on Aging’s support will enable us to test our novel approach to developing an Alzheimer’s disease drug therapy that has the potential to slow, stop or reverse the progression of disease. This award is reflective of the goal of the National Plan to address Alzheimer’s disease of finding effective therapies to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025”.

The Phase 2 grant from the Small Business Innovation Research program covers two years. Funds will be used for a Phase 2a clinical trial to evaluate efficacy and safety.

The compound is called T3D-959.

“The drug has displayed multi-faceted effectiveness on memory, motor function, inflammation, neuronal cell death, beta amyloid production and tau alteration in pre-clinical studies,” according to T3D.

In the announcement, T3D quoted Dr. Suzanne de la Monte, Neuropathologist at Rhode Island Hospital and Professor of Pathology at Brown University and a Principal Investigator on the project, as pointing out T3D-959’s potential.

“The recent failure of multiple drugs in clinical development for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) which were all focused on beta amyloid plaques, one of many defects in AD, teaches us that effective drug therapy will likely have to improve multiple defects in the disease, not just one. T3D-959 has this desired profile in diseased animals which we are hopeful will translate to humans,” de la Monte said.

T3D launched in 2013.

Watch a video about T3D technology at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHWD7BzfElY