ScandiBio’s Combined Metabolic Activator (CMA) is designed to address one of the underlying causes of disease progression: mitochondrial dysfunction by enhancing NAD⁺ metabolism, stimulating fatty acid oxidation and reducing oxidative stress.

3 x Q&A: Mathias Uhlén

ScandiBio Therapeutics is a biotech company founded by researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Karolinska Institutet, and Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden. NLS asked its Chairman, professor Mathias Uhlén, about his hopes and expectations for the future of ScandiBio and its CMA:

“To make it possible to improve the cognitive function of Alzheimer’s patients and thus complement the current therapies based on antibodies. This would make a huge difference for these patients and also be beneficial for relatives and society,” he says.

There is a high unmet need in this patient population, why do you think it is so hard to find effective treatments?

“This is a difficult disease from a drug development point of view, with a mixture of aging, protein aggregation, and the lack of  “normal” target activation or inactivation,” says Uhlén.

The Nordics is in the frontline of using metabolic activators for neurodegenerative diseases

How can the Nordics become a frontrunner in this field? What are our advantages and/or challenges?

“The Nordics is in the frontline of using metabolic activators for neurodegenerative diseases with the COGNIS study for Alzheimer’s by ScandiBio Therapeutics (described here) and the NOPARK Phase 3 study in Norway using NAD+ [a Phase III randomized controlled trial of nicotinamide riboside in early Parkinson’s disease],” says Uhlén.

Combined Metabolic Activator

ScandiBio’s Combined Metabolic Activator (CMA) is a formulation taken orally and consist of L-serine, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), nicotinamide, and L-carnitine tartrate. Earlier phase 2 clinical studies have demonstrated that CMA improves cognitive performance and favorably modulates systemic metabolic pathways with a strong safety and tolerability profile, describes the company.

“By addressing mitochondrial dysfunction, a fundamental driver of disease progression, CMA has the potential to modify the course of Alzheimer’s disease and improve cognitive function,” says Adil Mardinoglu, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of ScandiBio Therapeutics.

About the Phase 3 trial

The trial is taking place across nine clinical centers in Turkey and targets patients with mild, moderate and severe symptoms. The trial, involving over 600 patients, represents one of the largest clinical programmes to date to target mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegeneration.

One of the largest clinical programmes to date to target mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegeneration.

The recruitment of patients is ongoing with more than 60 patients recruited so far and ScandiBio expects to complete the study during the latter part of 2026, it states.