Lighthouse Pharma’s Dr. Michael J. Detke to Spotlight Novel Alzheimer’s Approach in National BrightFocus Event
Novato, CA — Lighthouse Pharma today announced that Dr. Michael J. Detke, MD, PhD, Lighthouse’s Chief Medical Officer, will be featured as a leading expert in the upcoming BrightFocus Foundation “Zoom In on Dementia & Alzheimer’s: Clinical Research” event on April 2, 2026.
During the session, Dr. Detke will present Lighthouse Pharma’s SPRING clinical trial of a new oral treatment candidate, LHP588. LHP588 is a second generation gingipain inhibitor targeting P. gingivalis, a gum disease-associated bacterium and its neurotoxic enzymes called gingipains. P. gingivalis and its gingipains have been increasingly linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Previous clinical study results demonstrated the efficacy of gingipain inhibitors in Alzheimer’s patients with mild to moderate dementia and a positive P. gingivalis saliva test.
“The emerging data connecting this bacterial infection to neurodegeneration is both compelling and actionable,” said Dr. Detke. “We’re encouraged by the growing body of evidence that targeting the gingipains from P. gingivalis could meaningfully impact disease progression in Alzheimer’s.”
Hosted by the BrightFocus Foundation, a leading nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research, the live, free event will connect patients, caregivers, and the scientific community with cutting-edge developments and opportunities to participate in clinical trials.
Registration is open to the public and available here: https://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers/resource-search/zoom-in-on-dementia-alzheimers/register-for-zoom-in-on-dementia-alzheimers-clinical-research/
The SPRING trial is actively enrolling at sites across the US, and interested participants are encouraged to learn more at a local clinical site which can be found at the Spring clinical trial website, www.springclinicaltrial.com.
About Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals
Lighthouse develops small-molecule therapeutics, leveraging translational insights and extensive clinical experience to address chronic degenerative and inflammatory disorders, with a lead clinical program focused on Alzheimer’s disease. The SPRING Clinical trial is now recruiting across the US. www.lighthousepharma.com
Research described in this notice is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG088524. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.