Alzheimer's Disease: BACE Program

Vitae Pharmaceuticals’ beta-secretase (BACE) inhibitor program exemplifies the speed and productivity of our drug discovery process.

Inhibition of BACE, an enzyme involved in the formation of amyloid-beta plaques that accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, is a leading prospect for slowing or even halting disease progression.

• An estimated 30 million patients worldwide have some form of Alzheimer’s disease, with $148 billion in annual health care costs in the U.S.
• Twelve months after starting full-scale research efforts, Vitae Pharmaceuticals discovered multiple series of novel compounds that demonstrated in vivo proof-of-principle including good bioavailability, tissue distribution and amyloid-beta lowering in the brain upon a single oral dose. 
• Within 18 months of starting full-scale research efforts, Vitae Pharmaceuticals signed a deal with Boehringer Ingelheim which provided $42 million in upfront and research funding to further develop BACE inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Vitae Pharmaceuticals’ BACE inhibitor may be one of the first disease-modifying products in its class to reach the market.