Arimoclomol is an experimental drug compound developed by CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company based in Los Angeles, California. The orally administered drug is intended to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a neurodegenerative disease with no effective treatment. (en)
Arimoclomol is designed to stimulate a natural cellular repair pathway by activating compounds called “molecular chaperones.” Arimoclomol uses a unique 'molecular chaperone' co-induction mechanism. The small molecule drug candidate is believed to function by stimulating a normal cellular protein repair pathway through the activation of "molecular chaperones." Since damaged proteins called aggregates are thought to play a role in many diseases, CytRx believes that activation of molecular chaperones could have therapeutic efficacy for a broad range of diseases. (en)