LipimetiX Development Announces Sub-License of Apo E Mimetic Peptide Platform to Anji Pharma, China
07 May 2018 - 11:00PM
LipimetiX Development, Inc. (“LipimetiX” or “the
Company”) announced today that
Anji
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Anji Pharma”) has entered a
licensing agreement for the LipimetiX platform of peptides (AEM-28
and analogs) for development of these drug candidates in commercial
indications in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Anji
Pharma’s mission is to license and develop promising therapeutic
technologies that address under-served markets in China.
The Anji Pharma’s license provides exclusive rights to and use
of the LipimetiX patent portfolio of Apo E mimetic peptides and
formulations in the above-mentioned territory. Terms include
an upfront licensing payment to LipimetiX of US$2.0 million,
multiple additional cash payments upon achievement of
clinical/regulatory milestones and a royalty on Anji Pharma’s
future pharmaceutical revenues derived from this program.
Further, the agreement provides for information sharing and other
terms standard to a licensing agreement of this nature.
Dennis Goldberg, Ph.D., CEO of LipimetiX, stated, “We welcome
the Anji Pharma relationship to develop our lipid-lowering peptides
in China. The business opportunity was brought to us by a
member of the LipimetiX Science Advisory Board, who has closely
observed and contributed to our program’s success. We are
pleased by this validation of our science in Apo E mimetic
peptides.”
Yiwei Zong, Ph.D., CEO of Anji Pharma, added, “We are excited to
collaborate with LipimetiX in a program to address a large China
and global clinical need. The LipimetiX team has already
shown proof-of-concept in lipid reduction in humans with
AEM-28. We look forward to helping progress these potent
peptides through the next clinical development phases and,
ultimately, to the market.”
Chimeric Apolipoprotein E Mimetic
Peptides
Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) is in a class of
protein that occurs throughout the body. Apo E is essential
for the normal metabolism of cholesterol and triglycerides.
After a meal, the postprandial (or post-meal) lipid load is
packaged in lipoproteins and secreted into the blood stream.
Apo E targets cholesterol and triglyceride rich lipoproteins to
specific receptors in the liver, decreasing the levels in the
blood. Elevated plasma cholesterol and triglycerides are
independent risk factors for atherosclerosis, the buildup of
cholesterol rich lesions and plaques in the arteries.
Atherosclerosis is the major cause of cardiovascular disease,
peripheral artery disease and cerebral artery disease, and can
cause heart attack, loss of limbs and stroke. Defective
lipid metabolism also plays an important role in the development of
adult onset diabetes mellitus (Type 2 diabetes), and diabetics are
particularly vulnerable to atherosclerosis, heart and peripheral
artery diseases.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (“UAB”)
scientists patented the first chimeric Apo E mimetic peptide in
1999, reducing the 299 amino acid native Apo E into a 28 amino
acid, dual domain peptide that can be delivered therapeutically.
One domain inserts into a lipoprotein surface and the second
domain binds to the Apo E receptors in the liver. In 2010,
the Company’s founding scientist, Dr. Dennis Goldberg, obtained
worldwide right to patents for Apo E mimetic peptides from the UAB
Research Foundation (“UABRF”). The Company has an Exclusive
License Agreement with the University of Alabama at Birmingham
Research Foundation for AEM-28 and its analogs.
The Company has continued research into a next
generation of chimeric Apo E peptides and has discovered new AEM-28
analogs, resulting in worldwide patent filings in 2015. The
AEM-28 analogs were found to be significantly more potent (as
tested in multiple animal models) than the parent molecule.
Currently, the Company intends to concentrate its development
efforts on AEM-28 analogs, including AEM-28-08 and AEM-28-14.
Commercial indication targets include Homozygous Familial
Hypercholesterolemia and Acute Coronary Syndrome.
About Anji
Anji Pharma is a clinical stage pharmaceutical
company dedicated to addressing China’s unmet clinical needs by
identifying and in-licensing world-class clinical compounds and
accelerating their clinical development in China.
About LipimetiX
LipimetiX Development, Inc. is a clinical stage
biotechnology company committed to developing Chimeric Apo E
Mimetic Peptides for multiple lipid reduction indications.
LipimetiX is approximately 60%-owned by Capstone Therapeutics Corp.
(OTCQB:CAPS).
Capstone’s corporate headquarters are in Tempe,
Arizona. For more information, please visit Capstone's
website: www.capstonethx.com. For more information on
LipimetiX Development, please visit the Company’s website:
www.lipimetix.com.
Statements in this press release or otherwise
attributable to Capstone regarding our business that are not
historical facts are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from predicted
results. These risks include the factors discussed in our
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, and other
documents that Capstone files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Editor’s Note: This press release is also
available under the Investors section of Capstone’s website at
www.capstonethx.com.
LipimetiX Development, Inc. 5 Commonwealth
Road - Suite 2ANatick, MA
01760(508)651-3715www.lipimetix.com
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