Aztherapies Inc.'s new phase III approach in Alzheimer's disease (AD), ALZT-OP1, combines two well-characterized small molecules in optimized form – inhaled mast cell stabilizer cromolyn and orally given ibuprofen – for a multimodal attack of the condition at an early stage, tamping down "the big fire that's burning in the brain," Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Karen Reeves told BioWorld. Formerly with New York-based Pfizer Inc., Reeves was not the first to characterize AD as a "ticking time bomb."