REG - Animalcare Group PLC - Animalcare and Orthros form VHH R&D collaboration

AnimalcareAnnouncement

24/03/2022 07:01

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RNS Number : 8256F  Animalcare Group PLC  24 March 2022

ANIMALCARE GROUP PLC

 

(the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Animalcare partners with Orthros Medical in VHH antibody research and
development for treatment of canine osteoarthritis

 

Early development pipeline strengthened in target therapy area through
licensing and investment in novel treatments utilising VHH antibodies

 

24 March 2022. Animalcare Group plc (AIM: ANCR) today announced that it has
entered into two early-stage agreements with Netherlands-based Orthros
Medical, a company focused on the research and early development of VHH
antibodies, also known as small single chain antibody fragments.

 

Through the collaboration, Animalcare secures a global exclusive licence from
Orthros Medical for two preclinical VHH candidates initially addressing canine
osteoarthritis. Additionally, the Group is entering into a research and
development agreement with Orthros Medical with the objective of adding
further projects to the licence agreement.

 

Under the terms of the deal, Animalcare will make upfront payments to Orthros
Medical totalling €500,000 and will fund some early research activities as
part of the collaboration. As the two licensed preclinical candidates
progress, Orthros Medical may receive development, regulatory and commercial
milestone payments up to a total value of €11 million as well as single
digit royalties on net sales of the products. These payments are expected to
be paid out of the Group's operating cash flow.

 

The licensed candidates will be developed as mono and combination therapy for
local application in osteoarthritic joints to enable pain relief and,
potentially, disease modification. The candidate profiles are complementary to
Daxocox, the Group's COX-2 inhibitor approved for the treatment of
osteoarthritis-related pain in dogs.

 

Found in llamas and other camelids, small single chain fragments of the
variable domain of heavy-chain only antibodies (VHH) offer new opportunities
for the research and development of innovative drug treatments for use in
human and animal patients.

VHH antibodies feature significant therapeutic advantages over other types of
antibody. They are small, relatively easy to engineer, have high specificity
and can be quickly cleared from the system thereby promising a good safety
profile. VHH-based therapeutics have received regulatory approval in the human
health arena.

 

Jenny Winter, Chief Executive Officer of Animalcare Group plc said: "This
partnership represents a key building block in our long-term growth strategy.
We are keen to expand our early-stage pipeline by seeking out innovative
technologies to meet evolving customer needs in a fast-growing, competitive
market. Working with Orthros Medical, we have an exciting opportunity to build
our future pain and osteoarthritis portfolio while exploring further potential
of Orthros Medical's VHH technology in animals."

 

Robert Jan Lamers, Chief Executive Officer of Orthros Medical said: "We are
excited to combine Orthros Medical's pre-clinical expertise in research and
formulation in VHH products with Animalcare's development, regulatory and
commercial expertise. We are confident the partnership will generate multiple
opportunities to develop novel and differentiated osteoarthritis products for
animals."

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.

 

 

About Animalcare

Animalcare Group plc is a UK AIM-listed international veterinary development
and sales & marketing organisation. Animalcare operates in seven countries
and exports to approximately 40 countries in Europe and worldwide. The Group
is focused on bringing new and innovative products to market through its own
development pipeline, partnerships and via acquisition.

 

For more information about Animalcare, please visit www.animalcaregroup.com
(http://www.animalcaregroup.com) or contact:

 

 Animalcare Group plc                      +44 (0)1904 487 687

 Jenny Winter, Chief Executive Officer

 Chris Brewster, Chief Financial Officer

 Media/investor relations                  communications@animalcaregroup.com (mailto:communications@animalcaregroup.com)

 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited            +44 (0)20 7710 7600
 (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)

 Ben Maddison

 Nick Adams

 Nick Harland

 Panmure Gordon                            +44 (0)20 7886 2500

 (Joint Broker)

 Corporate Finance

 Freddy Crossley/Emma Earl

 Corporate Broking

 Rupert Dearden

 

About Orthros Medical

Dutch biotech company Orthros Medical focuses on the development of VHH-based
therapeutics and diagnostics for animal and human health. The unique
properties of single chain VHH antibody fragments offer great opportunities in
the treatment and diagnosis of disease. A spin-off of the University of Twente
in the Netherlands, Orthros Medical is privately owned and closely
collaborates with the university in research and development programmes.

 

For more information about Orthros, please visit www.orthros-medical.com
(http://www.orthros-medical.com)  or contact:

 

 Orthros Medical B.V.                         +31 626 150 132

 Robert Jan Lamers, Chief Executive Officer   Robertjan.lamers@orthros-medical.com

 

 

 

 

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