REG - N4 Pharma PLC - AAV Viral Vector Update

N4 PharmaAnnouncement

08/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 8399Y  N4 Pharma PLC  08 January 2024

 

8(th) January 2024

N4 Pharma plc

 ("N4 Pharma" or the "Company")

 

AAV Viral Vector Update

 

N4 Pharma Plc (AIM: N4P), the specialist pharmaceutical company developing
Nuvec®, a novel delivery system for cancer treatments, gene therapy and
vaccines, is pleased to provide a further successful update on its ongoing
research work into the use of Nuvec® to enhance the performance of viral
vectors.

 

Through its research programme with the University of Brunel, the Company has
demonstrated via a series of in vitro experiments that Nuvec® can deliver
increased transduction efficacy, when complexed with Adeno-Associated virus 8
("AAV8"). This follows on from earlier work where the Company showed that
Nuvec® increased transduction efficacy of a standard Adenovirus vector.

 

Specifically, Nuvec® was mixed with AAV8 carrying a fluorescent green protein
gene and used to transduce human-like liver cells (induced pluripotent cell
model). When the viral vector was complexed with Nuvec®, transduction
efficacy increased 2.5-fold compared to the AAV8 vector when used on a
standalone basis. AAV8 was chosen for investigation as this virus is currently
being used for products already in clinical development.

 

Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented:

 

"The number of approvals of new gene therapies and the need for appropriate
delivery systems have reached unprecedented highs and demand is growing
exponentially. The AAV vector market alone (AAV based gene therapy and AAV
manufacturing) is projected to grow from USD 1.9 billion in 2022 to USD 11.1
billion by 2035, a CAGR of 14%¹.

 

"For in vivo gene therapy, the Adenovirus (AV) and Adeno-Associated virus
(AAV) are acknowledged as the most used delivery vehicles. However relatively
high amounts of AV and AAV are needed to be clinically efficient and this
appears directly correlated with adverse events in patients such as unwanted
immunogenicity and potential safety implications.

 

"Our work shows that Nuvec® has the potential to reduce the amount of AV and
AAV needed and thus decrease both the cost of goods and immunogenicity
associated with using these viral vectors. We believe this will be a major
focus of the pharma/biotech industry as these viral vector delivery systems
are further investigated.

 

"This work is running in parallel to our ongoing oral and dual loading work as
well as the Nanogenics' Glaucoma product, an update on which will follow
soon."

¹Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors / AAV Vector Market - Focus on AAV Based Gene Therapy and AAV Manufacturing by Type of Therapy, Type of Gene Delivery Method Used, Target Therapeutic Area, Application Area, Scale of Operation and Geographical Regions: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2022-2035: Roots analysis.

 

 

For more information please contact:

 

 N4 Pharma plc

 Nigel Theobald, CEO                                          Via N4 Pharma Investor Hub

 Luke Cairns, Executive Director

 Engage with us directly at N4 Pharma Investor Hub            Sign up at investors.n4pharma.com (https://investors.n4pharma.com/)

 To hear more, visit                                          https://investors.n4pharma.com/link/2P2xwe
                                                              (https://investors.n4pharma.com/link/2P2xwe)
 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP                               Tel: +44(0)20 3470 0470

 Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker

 Matthew Johnson/Kasia Brzozowska (Corporate Finance)

 Vadim Alexandre/Abigail Wayne/Rob Rees (Corporate Broking)
 Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited                        Tel: +44(0)20 3657 0050

 Joint Broker

 Andy Thacker

 James Pope
 IFC Advisory Ltd                                             Tel: +44(0)20 3934 6630

 Financial PR

 Graham Herring

 Zach Cohen

 

 

Glossary

 

AAV8 is an isolate from rhesus monkey tissue with high homology to other
AAVs, but it has a liver cell transduction efficiency reported to be far
greater than those of all others AAVs tested to date.

 

pluripotent cell model: The term "pluripotent" means capable of developing
into differentiated cells. Pluripotent cells are the embryonic stem cells that
have the unlimited capacity to divide, self-renew and differentiate into cells
of early primary germ cell layers, namely mesoderm, endoderm, and ectoderm

 

transduction: the transfer of genetic material from one organism to another by
a genetic vector

 

About N4 Pharma

N4 Pharma is a specialist pharmaceutical company developing a novel delivery
system for oncology, gene therapy and vaccines using its unique silica
nanoparticle delivery system called Nuvec®.

 

N4 Pharma's business model is to partner with companies developing novel
antigens in these fields to use Nuvec® as the delivery vehicle for these
antigens. As these products progress through pre‐clinical and clinical
programs, N4 Pharma will seek to receive upfront payments, milestone payments
and ultimately royalty payments once products reach the market.

 

For further information on the Company visit www.n4pharma.com
(http://www.n4pharma.com) or sign up at investors.n4pharma.com
(https://investors.n4pharma.com/) .

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