Channel Islands Alzheimer's Institute Receives $120,000 Donation

    /24-7PressRelease/ - CAMARILLO, CA - October 17, 2007 - The Channel Islands Alzheimer's Institute recently received a $120,000 donation from Cardax Pharmaceuticals. The money will be received in four payments of $30,000 each beginning now through 2008.

The Channel Islands Alzheimer's Institute is located on the campus of California State University Channel Islands.

Included in the $120,000 donation are at least two student research scholarships for $6,000 each to be used for the student recipients' fees and expenses over two semesters.

"We are gratified that Cardax Pharmaceuticals saw the potential in the drug discovery work of our institute," said Gilbert M. Rishton, Ph.D., founding scientist and director of the Channel Islands Alzheimer's Institute. "These funds will support our ongoing work in drug discovery for neurodegeneration and on the role that certain dietary antioxidants might play in the prevention of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease".

Cardax Pharmaceuticals, located in Aiea, Hawaii, develops antioxidant compounds as drug candidates for cardiovascular and inflammatory disease. Cardax Pharmaceuticals has identified a potent antioxidant found in krill and wild salmon, astaxanthin, as being effective in models of cardiovascular and inflammatory disease. The Cardax Pharmaceutical drug candidate is a novel and improved derivative of astaxanthin that is poised for human testing in 2008.

The Channel Islands Alzheimer's Institute has been created to conduct drug discovery research, potentially toward a treatment for the disease that has become so prevalent throughout the world today. According to the Alzheimer's Association, it is estimated that nearly 14 million people worldwide currently suffer from Alzheimer's Disease. By 2050, that number is expected to increase to 45 million. The Channel Islands Alzheimer's Institute will provide opportunities for faculty and students to discover new chemical compounds that will inhibit the neurodegenerative component of Alzheimer's disease.

For more information on the Channel Islands Alzheimer's Institute, its projects and science, contact Gilbert M. Rishton, founding scientist, by e-mail, [email protected].

For media inquires about this donation or the Channel Islands Alzheimer's Institute contact Ceal Potts, communications specialist at CSUCI, 805-437-8940 or [email protected].

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