Discoverer of the Klotho Gene and Pioneer in Longevity and Disease Prevention Dr. Makoto Kuro-o Joins Scientific Advisory Board of ADvantage Therapeutics

Dr. Kuro-o to speak at Second Annual Entrepreneurship, Longevity and Biotech Conference Held in Boca Raton, Florida

BOCA RATON, Fla. and VIENNA, Austria, Feb. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ADvantage Therapeutics, a pioneer in developing therapies for neurodegenerative conditions by addressing the biology of aging, today announced the appointment to its Scientific Advisory Board of Professor Makoto Kuro-o, a pioneer in the science of aging and longevity and the first to identify the klotho gene. In addition, ADvantage’s CEO, Jeffrey Madden, will provide updates on the development of ADvantage’s lead compound, AD04™, now in phase 2 clinical trials in Alzheimer’s Disease patients, and on the company’s work on the klotho protein, which aims to reduce the effects of aging.Kuro-o and Madden will speak at the invite-only Entrepreneurship, Longevity, and Biotech Conference in Boca Raton on February 9 and 10. The conference assembles biotech and longevity scientists and entrepreneurs to share research and exchange ideas for improving the biotech and longevity industries.  Last year, Moderna co-founder Professor Robert Langer gave the keynote address.

“The biology of aging is growing in prominence as scientists discover how damage accumulates throughout the body and how some factors, such as the klotho protein, rejuvenate and protect multiple systems,” said Madden. “ADvantage is working to reduce the burden of aging in Alzheimer’s specifically and other age-related conditions more generally, and Dr. Kuro-o will be a tremendous addition in that effort. His discovery of the klotho gene opened a new field that we will work together to advance.

Makoto Kuro-o, M.D., Ph.D. is a professor at the Center of Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Japan. He has more than 30 years of research and clinical experience in endocrinology, endocrine fibroblast growth factors, molecular biology of aging, nephrology, and mineral metabolism. He discovered and named the klotho gene in 1997, and since then has written and published extensively on the topic. His pioneering research has opened new and promising paths toward understanding longevity as well as preventing and treating disease. Dr. Kuro-o received his degrees from the University of Tokyo, Japan.

Other speakers at this year’s conference include *Dr. Carmela Abraham*, Chief Science Officer, ADvantage Therapeutics, *Dr. Rudy Tanzi*, Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit, MGH, *Dr. Leona Krohle* CEO and Founder, Bluezone Longevity Sphere, *Nathan Cheng*, General Partner, Healthspan Capital, *Lisa Fabiny-Kiser*, CEO, SENS Research Foundation, *Agustin Fernandez III*, CEO, Rational Vaccines, *Iosif Gershteyn*, CEO, ImmuVia, *Bryan Johnson*, Founder and CEO, Blueprint, *Jeff Madden*, CEO, ADvantage Therapeutics, *Fiona Miller*, Managing Partner, QuadraScope, *Jim O'Neill*, Co-founder, the Thiel Fellowship, Former HHS Official, *Dr. Achim Schneeberger*, Chief Medical Officer, ADvantage Therapeutics, *Yuri Deigin*, Co-Founder, YouthBio Therapeutics, *Petr Sramek*, CEO, healthylongevity.clinic, Managing Partner, Longevitytech.fund, *Dr. Jean Hebert*, Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, *Daniel Gropper*, Dean, FAU College of Business, *Dr. Siri Terjesen*, Phil Smith Professor, Associate Dean of Research & External Relations, Executive Director, Madden Center for Value Creation at Florida Atlantic University, *Leonardo Ferreira*, Professor at Medical University of South Carolina. *Jonathan Gootenberg*, McGovern Fellow at MIT, *Omar Abudayyeh*, McGovern Institute Fellow at MIT, *Andre Watson*, Chairman and CEO, Ligandal, and other biotech visionaries.

Sponsored by the Madden Center for Value Creation at FAU’s College of Business and in collaboration with FAU Health, the conference is being held February 9^th and 10^th on the FAU campus in Boca Raton, Florida.

*About AD04™
*ADvantage Therapeutics is developing AD04™ as a novel immunotherapy for mild Alzheimer’s Disease. The compound has been used extensively as an adjuvant in human and animal vaccination programs. In a previous trial, AD04™ serving as a control against another compound appeared to demonstrate statistically significant slower decline in cognitive and quality of life clinical measures compared to other treatment groups. AD04™ also showed slower decline in hippocampal volume as a biomarker.

The Company believes that rather than being limited to a specific aspect of AD pathology, such as amyloid beta or tau, AD04™ may address inflammatory mechanisms in the brain, functioning as an immunomodulator, stimulating and/or regulating the immune system to reduce AD pathology.

*About Alzheimer’s Disease*
About fifty million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease, which is the sixth leading cause of death in industrialized countries. In 2019, the World Health Organization estimated the total worldwide cost of dementia at $1.3 trillion and expects this cost to rise to $2 trillion by 2030. The socio-economic burden of Alzheimer’s Disease is enormous. AD devastates the lives of patients and their families. AD victims lose their memory and independence. Alzheimer’s Disease is a high unmet medical need as there are currently no disease-modifying drugs approved worldwide. The availability of a safe, effective, affordable drug would transform the life of an AD patient from accepting a debilitating disease to the retention of personality, independence, and dignity.

*About ADvantage Therapeutics, Inc.*
Headquartered in the Wynwood neighborhood in Miami, ADvantage Therapeutics is developing therapies to treat neurodegenerative conditions with a central focus on Alzheimer’s Disease. The Company’s lead compound AD04™ is a subcutaneous injectable therapy that entered, in November 2023, confirmatory Phase 2b clinical trials in Europe, to evaluate its safety and efficacy in early AD patients. The Company believes that AD04™ may function as an immunomodulator, stimulating and regulating the immune system to reduce AD pathology, rather than limiting therapy to attack the misfolded proteins, beta amyloid and tau. The Company is exploring additional approaches to mitigating neurodegenerative disease, among them increasing the levels of Klotho, a life and health extending protein which will have an overall impact on longevity.

*About ADvantage Therapeutics GmbH*
ADvantage Therapeutics GmbH, founded in 2021, is the Vienna BioCenter-based subsidiary of ADvantage Therapeutics, Inc., where the Company conducts early research and drug development.

*Safe Harbor-Forward-Looking Statements*
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements of potential mode of action, potential clinical effect, potential safety, and ADvantage’s potential clinical development program and pipeline program. ADvantage is in the early stages of developing and testing its AD04™ compound and may not receive future regulatory approvals needed for marketing it as a drug. The described clinical effect of our lead compound AD04™ is primarily based on results of a Phase 2 study designed to evaluate a different compound. The described results need to be confirmed for proof of concept, might not be representative of larger scale clinical trials, and do not guarantee future clinical success. Any preclinical results presented here are interim. The mechanism of action of AD04™, as potentially determined in our future investigations, particularly in future clinical trials with patients with Alzheimer’s Disease, might differ from the one presented.

*Contacts:*
For ADvantage Therapeutics
195 NW 40th Street
Miami, FL 33127

Jeffrey Madden CEO
jeff@advantagetherapeutics.com
(305) 846-9027

David Buchsbaum CFO
david@advantagetherapeutics.com
(305) 846-9027