Aptamer Group
plc
("Aptamer", the "Company" or
the "Group")
Top Pharmaceutical Company
evaluates Optimer for precision liver medicine
- Optimer delivery vehicle has been shipped to a pharma partner
for external evaluation
- The specific delivery vehicle could generate new precision
therapies for liver disease
Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA), the
developer of novel Optimer® binders to enable innovation
in the life sciences industry, today announces that its Optimer
binder against cells associated with fibrotic liver disease,
developed for targeted delivery of therapeutic payloads to fibrotic
liver disease, has been shipped to a top 15 pharmaceutical company
for evaluation in their own therapeutic applications.
The Optimer delivery vehicle was
developed to selectively target cells linked to fibrotic liver
disease, as part of a fee-for-service partnership with the
pharmaceutical company that began in 2020. Subsequent work at
Aptamer Group combining the Optimer with a model gene therapy
payload has shown that the Optimer enables selective delivery of
the gene therapy specifically to fibrotic human liver cells in
laboratory tests, with no interaction with other liver cell types.
This allows the gene therapy to be effective in target fibrotic
liver disease cells, with no effect in the non-target liver cells.
A significant effect was seen from the Optimer-delivered gene
therapy, compared to the gene therapy alone, with a p-value of less
than 0.01, indicating the probability of these results is more than
99% due to the Optimer delivery of the gene therapy. As these data
demonstrate the successful therapeutic delivery using the Optimer
binder, the pharmaceutical partner requested samples of the
material for their own evaluation, with a view to licensing this
binder for further development of new precision liver medicines.
The required material has been manufactured by Aptamer Group and,
following internal testing by the Company, has been released to the
pharmaceutical partner.
Targeted delivery to specific cell
populations is showing increasing use across the pharmaceutical
sector, as it holds the potential for increased efficacy and
reduced side effects from medications. Exemplar publicised
partnerships for specifically targeted precision medicine
developments include Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. licensing a single
delivery vehicle from Bicycle Therapeutics Inc. for $45 million
upfront, with additional milestone payments and royalties for each
program developed under the collaboration; Partnering of Takeda
Pharmaceutical with Peptidream Inc, with Peptidream Inc receiving
up to $3.5 billion excluding royalty payments for delivery vehicles
targeting the central nervous system. Both these deals demonstrate
the urgent requirement and high values associated with developments
and assets of this nature in the sector for successful targeting
delivery vehicles.
Estimates suggest that globally, two
million lives are lost annually to liver disease, and 1.5 billion
people suffer from chronic liver disease. The most common liver
disease is steatotic liver disease, accounting for ~60% of cases,
which in its worst stages is known as metabolic
dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and can progress to
liver cancer. Despite this prevalence, treatment options are
limited, with only one medication currently approved for MASH and
liver fibrosis. Aptamer's delivery vehicle can be simply combined
with gene therapies or other therapeutic payloads to enable the
development of new precision medicine approaches for the treatment
of fibrotic liver disease and liver cancers in this area of high unmet need.
Dr
Arron Tolley, Chief Technical Officer of Aptamer Group,
said: "We are delighted to be able
to supply our Optimer binders to our pharma partner for evaluation.
Their positive feedback on our in-house data suggests that the
Optimer binders could outperform the alternative molecules they are
currently testing.
"For gene therapy, enabling targeted
delivery of functional medicines to new tissues remains a major
translational challenge preventing the full recognition of gene
therapies potential. Our in-house studies suggest we have overcome
these issues in developing these Optimer binders and could offer
new hope for precision medicines for liver disease, a patient group
that is hugely underserved with limited treatment
options.
"I look forward to supporting our
partners in their use of Optimer delivery vehicles and updating the
market as this partnership progresses."
- ENDS
-
For further information, please
contact:
Aptamer Group plc
Steve Hull
|
+44 (0) 1904 217
404
|
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited - Nominated
Adviser
Andrew Emmott / Adam
Dawes
|
+44 (0) 20 3368
3550
|
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited -
Broker
James Pope / Andrew
Thacker
|
+44 (0) 20 3657
0050
|
About Aptamer Group plc
Aptamer Group develops custom affinity binders
through its proprietary Optimer® platform to enable new
approaches in therapeutics, diagnostics, and research applications.
The Company strives to deliver transformational solutions that meet
the needs of life science researchers and
developers.
Optimer binders are oligonucleotide
affinity ligands that can function as an antibody alternative. The
global affinity ligand market is currently worth over $170
billion.
Aptamer has successfully delivered
projects for a range of global pharma companies, diagnostic
development companies, and research institutes, covering multiple
application areas with the objective of establishing
royalty-bearing licenses.