AARHUS, Denmark, December 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Borean Pharma A/S, the biopharmaceutical and protein engineering company, today announced that it has established proof of concept in a preclinical study of its proprietary tumour necrosis factor -alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonist for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This engineered protein pharmaceutical was derived from Borean’s proprietary C-Type Lectin Domain (CTLD) library of therapeutic proteins. The results of the study are being presented by Borean Pharma’s VP of Drug Discovery, Dr Thor Las Haltet, at IBC’s Protein Engineering conference in San Diego.
The study was conducted with transgenic mice expressing human TNF, which results in them developing polyarthritis at 3 to 4 weeks of age. Treatment with Borean’s proprietary TNF-alpha antagonist resulted in dose-dependent slowing of disease progression that was significantly different from controls and equivalent to Remicade, a monoclonal antibody currently marketed for the treatment of RA. Borean has already established preclinical basic biosafety, pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution profile for its CTLD-derived products.
Commenting on the results, Borean Pharma’s CEO, Dr Johanna Holldack, said, “This is the first preclinical validation of a therapeutic product derived from our technology platform. We believe that this CTLD derived TNF-alpha antagonist offers a cost-effective antibody analogue that will be easier to manufacture than existing antibody therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis.”
Borean’s CTLD libraries may be regarded as an artificial immune system comprising numerous variants of antibody-analogues containing specific binders to virtually any target. As protein pharmaceuticals, these drug candidates can be manufactured more simply and at reduced cost compared to monoclonal antibodies. There is also an indication that such protein therapeutics would be as effective as monoclonal antibodies but without the associated immunogenicity that compromises the use of antibodies for therapeutic purposes.
Borean Pharma intends to file for an IND from the FDA with a view towards taking the TNF-alpha antagonist into the clinic.
About Borean Pharma: www.boreanpharma.com
Borean Pharma was established with the objective to develop a new generation of pharmaceutical protein products. The company’s competitive advantage lies in its proprietary technology, enabling it to develop a new generation of highly efficacious compounds and antibody analogues that can be produced in E.coli. The ease of production addresses a major shortcoming of monoclonal antibodies. Borean Pharma believes that it can unleash the true potential of biopharmaceuticals by providing efficacious and cost-effective protein-based antibody analogues.
For further information please visit the website at www.boreanpharma.com
Borean Pharma
CONTACT: Dr. Johanna Holldack, CEO, Borean Pharma, t: +45-86-20-51-57, e:joh@boreanpharma.com. Dr Douglas Pretsell, Senior Account Manager,Northbank Communications, t: +49-89-57-00-18-06, e:d.pretsell@northbankcommunications.com
