LOWELL -- Alcyone Lifesciences, a small biotechnology company operating out of Mill No. 5, will partner with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to study a new method of treating neurological disorders such as ALS, Alcyone's chief executive said Thursday.

Alcyone CEO PJ Anand said his company had finalized a deal with Pfizer to begin a roughly eight-month research program using a Pfizer molecule and Alcyone technology in August. No financial terms of the agreement were disclosed.

"We're pretty excited about this deal we did with Pfizer," Anand said in an interview. "It's a significant investment in disease-modifying therapies. It's going to the root cause of the disease and treating that."

A representative from Pfizer could not be reached for immediate comment Thursday.

The pre-clinical feasibility study will use a molecule developed by Pfizer that could theoretically correct genetic mutations behind several debilitating neurological disorders. However, Anand said it can be challenging to get the treatment into position with more conventional techniques.

That's where Alcyone comes in: the research will use Alcyone's "Pulsar platform," a technique the company developed to transport molecules directly to the brain, alongside Pfizer's treatment. Anand likened it to Pfizer providing a package and Alcyone providing an instant-delivery drone that could drop the package off right on a doorstep.

"You need something advanced as well as precise because you don't want to contaminate the good parts of the brain," he said.

The process is a form of gene therapy, an emerging and experimental way of treatment that attempts to bring relief or even a cure by altering DNA itself to fix mutations that cause disorders. Alcyone and Pfizer's partnership will use the technique to examine the feasibility of treating neurological disorders including ALS and congenital childhood seizures.

"What happens here is a one-time shot that you go and make the patient feel substantially better or cure the patient," Anand said.

Alcyone was founded in 2010 and operated in Concord and Ayer before moving to Lowell's Boott Mills complex in 2014. The company did not receive funding from the city or UMass Lowell, but it did win a $750,000 loan from the Massachusetts Life Science Center's Accelerator Program.

Anand expressed hope that the study with Pfizer -- as well as an earlier, separate deal to research technology to treat brain cancer -- would create new opportunities for growth for the company, which currently employs nine people.

Operating out of the Mill No. 5 building, Alcyone is part of the Hamilton Canal Innovation District that has experienced some struggles in finding momentum. Last week, city officials invited developers and real-estate leaders to the district for a presentation on the opportunities available.

Anand said he hopes city officials will also make "concerted efforts" to promote biotechnology breakthroughs taking place in the Mill City and to attract new investments in the area.

"This could be a wonderful spot for that," he said. "It would be great to see the city push that."

If his company expanded, Anand said he hopes to stay in Lowell, but that a lack of accessible parking today could pose a challenge. A 900-spot parking garage in the HCID is being designed, and city officials hope that will relieve some pressure."

"(Parking) is not just expensive, but it's unreliable, and I think it's disruptive," Anand said. "Parking is going to be the biggest issue to me."

Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisLisinski

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Lowell biotech company Alcyone announces research deal with Pfizer - Lowell Sun

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