PureTech Health PLC PureTech Licenses Milk-Derived Exosome Technology
19 September 2017 - 4:01PM
RNS Non-Regulatory
TIDMPRTC
PureTech Health PLC
19 September 2017
19 September 2017
PureTech Health plc
PureTech Health Exclusively Licenses Novel Milk-Derived Exosome
Technology for Oral Administration of Biologics, Nucleic Acids, and
Complex Small Molecules
PureTech Health plc ("PureTech Health" or the "Company", LSE:
PRTC), an advanced, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today
announced an exclusive licensing agreement with 3P Biotechnologies,
Inc., via University of Louisville, for an exosome-based technology
(Calix) for the oral administration of biologics, nucleic acids,
and complex small molecules. The Calix technology is based on the
pioneering research of Ramesh Gupta, PhD, Founder of 3P
Biotechnologies, Agnes Brown Duggan Chair in Oncological Research
at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, and Professor in the
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at University of
Louisville. This license, together with additional PureTech
Health-generated intellectual property, establishes the company as
a leader in the application of milk exosomes for the oral
administration of therapeutic molecules.
Exosomes, which contain mixtures of lipids, proteins and nucleic
acids, play a critical physiologic role in intercellular
communication and the transport of macromolecules between cells and
tissues. Mammalian-derived exosomes have attractive potential as
vehicles for the administration of a variety of drug payloads,
especially nucleic acids, since their natural composition will
likely provide superior tolerability over the variety of synthetic
polymers currently in use. Previously, exosomes had not been
considered viable as vehicles for oral administration of drugs due
to their lack of stability under the harsh physiologic conditions
associated with transit through the stomach and small intestine.
However, the milk-derived exosomes that form the basis for the
Calix technology have evolved specifically to accomplish the task
of oral transport of complex biological molecules.
"Milk exosomes represent a significant opportunity to
potentially resolve the long-standing challenge of oral
bioavailability of macromolecules and complex small molecules.
Given the natural biology of milk exosomes, the Calix technology
may be uniquely positioned to permit oral administration of
oligonucleotide-based therapeutics and other nucleic acid-based
therapeutics such as mRNA," said Dr Joseph Bolen, Chief Scientific
Officer of PureTech Health.
Milk exosomes are a unique class of evolutionarily-conserved
microvesicles that maintain the integrity of packaged nucleic acids
and proteins during transit through the stomach and into the GI
tract, where they can act locally or be transported into the
circulatory system. Further, milk exosomes appear to be even more
robust than other naturally occurring exosomes, having demonstrated
stability under acidic conditions as well as other severe
conditions in which other exosome types are typically labile.
Inspired by the unique attributes of milk exosomes, PureTech Health
is harnessing the underlying biology to achieve oral administration
of proteins, peptides and nucleic acids therapeutics as well as
small molecule drugs that are currently classified as non-orally
bioavailable.
"The pre-clinical research conducted in my laboratory at the
University of Louisville and 3P Biotechnologies has demonstrated
significant oral bioavailability of milk exosome-delivered
therapeutic compounds that are intrinsically not orally
bioavailable," said Dr Gupta. "I am excited to work with PureTech
Health to rapidly advance this potentially disruptive technology
platform toward the development of novel therapeutics."
"This programme builds on PureTech's proven leadership in
identifying creative solutions for significant biomedical
problems," said David Steinberg, Chief Innovation Officer and a
Co-founder of PureTech Health. "Building on Dr Gupta's pioneering
work, we plan to advance our industry-leading exosome platform and
develop a robust therapeutic pipeline for the oral administration
of macromolecules."
About PureTech Health
PureTech Health (PureTech Health plc, PRTC.L) is an advanced,
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines
targeting serious diseases that result from dysfunctions in the
nervous, immune, and gastrointestinal systems (brain-immune-gut or
the "BIG" axis), which together represent the adaptive human
systems. PureTech Health is at the forefront of understanding and
addressing the biological processes and crosstalk associated with
the BIG axis. By harnessing this emerging field of human biology,
the Company is pioneering new categories of medicine with the
potential to have great impact on people with serious diseases.
PureTech Health is advancing a rich pipeline of innovative
therapies that includes two pivotal or registration studies
expected to read out in 2017, multiple human proof-of-concept
studies and a number of early clinical and pre-clinical programmes.
PureTech's rich research and development pipeline has been advanced
in collaboration with some of the world's leading scientific
experts, who along with PureTech's team of biopharma pioneers,
entrepreneurs and seasoned Board, identify, invent, and clinically
de-risk new medicines. With this experienced team pursuing cutting
edge science, PureTech Health is building the biopharma company of
the future focused on improving and extending the lives of people
with serious disease. For more information, visit
www.puretechhealth.com or connect with us on Twitter
@puretechh.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains statements that are or may be
forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the
company's future prospects, developments and strategies. The
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ
materially from current expectations, including, but not limited
to, those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors
included in the regulatory filings for PureTech Health plc. These
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the
present and future business strategies of the company and the
environment in which it will operate in the future. Each
forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press
release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements,
neither the company nor any other party intends to update or revise
these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
PureTech Health FTI Consulting
Allison Mead Talbot Ben Atwell, Rob
+1 617 651 3156 Winder
amt@puretechhealth.com +44 (0) 20 3727
1000
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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