On May 25, 2011, an international research consortium led by Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) announced the selection for funding of a large-scale European clinical trial of Nilvadipine, an Alzheimer’s disease drug developed at the Roskamp Institute in Sarasota. More than 500 Alzheimer’s patients will participate in the multicenter Phase III clinical trial designed to study the effectiveness of Nilvadipine.

Brian Lawlor, M.D., Connolly Norman Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, will be principal investigator and coordinator of the US$ 8.4 million Nilvadipine study, which is being funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme. More than 20 European clinical sites will participate in the placebo-controlled study. Anticipated to begin in early 2012, patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease will be recruited to participate.

The Roskamp Institute is devoted to understanding causes and finding cures for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. The Institute utilizes a broad range of scientific approaches to understanding the causes of and potential therapies for these disorders with an emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease. The Institute is located in Sarasota, Florida, and operates a memory clinic onsite.