Alkermes Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., was awarded two grants bythe National Institutes of Health through the Small BusinessInnovation Research (SBIR) program to continue research intodelivery of pharmaceuticals across the blood-brain barrier.

One of the grants, for two years and $500,000, covers thecontinued testing the delivery of nerve growth factor to thebrain in advanced animal models. Nerve growth factor has beenproposed as a therapeutic for neurodegenative disorders suchas Alzheimer's disease, but its clinical potential is limiteddue to its inability to cross the blood-brain barriereffectively.

The other grant, for $50,000 and six months, covers thedevlopment of a monoclonal antibody-based system.

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