Treatment device for Alzheimer’s approved by FDA, declares biotech firm led by N.J. entrepreneur
Amylex CEO Rogelio ‘Vonz’ Santos, Jr.: ‘Excited and optimistic’ about what BETACLEAR technology could do
New Jersey-born entrepreneur Rogelio “Vonz” Santos, Jr. has just joined the global war against Alzheimer’s Disease following his biotechnology company’s discovery of a possible cure for the dreaded epidemic common among the elderly.
At a recent TEDx presentation at the Lyceum of the Philippines University in Manila, Vonz revealed how his company, Amylex Biotechnology Philippines, Inc., discovered a promising new treatment and potential cure for Alzheimer’s. BETACLEAR became the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Beta-Amyloid Reduction Medical Device in the world. “Beta-Amyloid reduction” has been the long-sought objective in Alzheimer’s research, and this approval places the Philippines in a unique position to offer this detoxification procedure to patients around the world, he said.
“Beta-Amyloids are toxic protein ‘plaques’ in the brain and blood which lead to conditions of diabetes and Alzheimer’s,” explained Vonz, the first U.S.-born Filipino ever to receive The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award. He won in 2015 and recognized in the field of Social Entrepreneurship.
He said past efforts by major pharmaceutical companies to control or slow down the deteriorating effects of Alzheimer’s through various methods have produced side effects, making them too risky to enter the market.
The often-unpredictable causes of Alzheimer’s have also baffled scientists, he said, with science still evolving and new discoveries emerging.
“The changing focus from Beta-Amyloids in the brain to now those that are still in the blood stream and how the pathology of Alzheimer’s usually begins at least 10 to 20 years before the first symptoms frighteningly suggest that symptoms can begin in people as young as in their mid-40s,” said Vonz.
Research and development on the new technology began in the U.S. in 2000.
“In 2011, I incorporated the company Amylex Biotechnology Philippines, Inc. as the counterpart to bring the technology here,” said Vonz, who is the chairman and CEO of the Philippine-based company.
An estimated 5.7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association in its website alz.org.
He said he has been working fervently to ensure that Amylex becomes a cutting-edge research center for the development of technology. Ultimately, his vision is for the Philippines to become a prime medical innovation research center in Asia and, possibly, around the world.
Vonz’s interest in Alzheimer’s Disease began when he met noted biology professor Dr. Stanley Stein of Rutgers University. His wife Barbara happened to be Vonz’s English teacher in high school. Observing Dr. Stein’s research on new methods of treatment on Alzheimer’s somehow inspired Vonz, who looked up to Dr. Stein as someone “who didn’t seek to discover an answer, rather he chose to invent one.”
Amylex’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Peter Frederikse, led the preliminary study that triggered diabetes in rabbits and showed that a good majority of the lab creatures with diabetic conditions naturally developed symptoms leading to Alzheimer’s. It has been hypothesized that there is a direct link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Their research revealed that large pharmaceutical players may have been addressing the disease at a late stage.
In his TEDx presentation, Vonz showed how Amylex has utilized diabetes as an early warning signal to potentially disrupt and even prevent the disease from progressing. BETACLEAR’s nano-molecular technology has led to healthy weight in lab animals with zero side effects, he said. He emphasized that the BETACLEAR technology is very “targeted” in that it will only cleanse the patient’s blood of Beta-Amyloids without harming any other vital cells or organs in the body.
Vonz said he and his team are “excited and optimistic” their invention will greatly benefit Alzheimer’s patients.
© The FilAm 2018
