Scientists at work in laboratory. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

i24 News – Molecules designed by Israeli scientists that slowed Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases in mice began the approval process to become a drug for humans.

Professor Esther Priel and colleagues at Ben Gurion University of the Negev have been researching the molecules for years, and published peer-reviewed research on their effectiveness in mice, according to the Times of Israel (ToI).

These molecules have shown a delaying effect on the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Priel and her colleagues formed a company, Neuromagen Pharma, but they didn’t have the funds to start pre-clinical trials needed to prepare for human testing.

An investment from an Israeli funder has allowed the process to move forward.

“This investment will allow us to push this to clinical trials, which was something we couldn’t do until now, as pre-clinical trials for FDA approval cost a lot of money,” Priel told ToI.

She stated that the drug is not expected to be a cure, but rather to “delay the onset and progression of the diseases, and improve the quality of life.”

ALS, also known as Lou Gherig’s disease, affects as many as 30,000 people in the United States, according to Hopkins Medicine. There are currently no drugs available to treat the disease.