Cortexyme, Inc. announced the publication of new data in Pharmacology Research and Perspectives revealing further detail about the pharmacodynamics and utility of the company’s lead investigational medicine, COR388. The data provides additional evidence on the ability of COR388 to engage its target, the toxic proteases, or gingipains, released by the bacterium P. gingivalis and the closely related species P. gulae, resulting in beneficial effects on bacterial load and symptoms. Cortexyme’s foundational research previously identified gingipains in more than 90% of Alzheimer’s disease brains studied. P. gingivalis is best known for its role asa keystone bacterium in the development of periodontal disease, and has recently been shown in animal studies to infiltrate the brain after oral infection and trigger pathology of Alzheimer’s including neurodegeneration, inflammation, beta-amyloid and tau pathology. In this publication, researchers report that COR388 demonstrates dose-dependent gingipain target engagement in a naturally occurring P. gulae infection, including in difficult to reach bacterial biofilm niches. P. gulae is the only other bacterial species known to secrete gingipains. COR388 was efficacious in improving downstream pathology of the infection, namely gingival pocket depth, a symptom of periodontal disease which affects approximately 65 million Americans. In addition, gingipain antigens and P. gulae DNA were found in the brains of aged dogs, indicating that P. gulae can also migrate from the oral cavity to the brain in a manner similar to that seen for P. gingivalis in Alzheimer’s patients.